When people talk about the dominant talent of the Western Conference, they often mention Colorado, Detroit, and Dallas, all of which have won Stanley Cups in the last five years, and usually they mention St. Louis, a 114-point team last season.
Nobody ever talks about Edmonton.
Maybe they should. The Oilers entered the game 11 games over .500 for the first time since 1990, which gives some sense of the struggles of hockey's late-'80s dynasty. After winning five Stanley Cups in seven years, the Oilers fell hard upon the new small-market financial realities. They missed the playoffs four straight years. They will make them this season, for the fifth successive year, but they haven't gone past the second round since 1992.