Is tonight the end? Well, I certainly hope it isn't but the Oilers are right up against it. It is officially do-or-die time for the Oily boys and while hope will never die, I must admit, it's hard to feel optimistic right now. These three losses have been about as crushing as any that I can remember. They've all been close, the Oilers have had a chance in every single one, and that makes it sting even more. Coming back from a 3-0 deficit rarely happens and really, you can't look at this situation as having to win four straight games. It's cliche, but you truly have to take it one game at a time. That starts tonight for the Oilers.

Well, tonight isn't technically a must-win game for the Edmonton Oilers, but it's as close as you can get. After dropping game two in heartbreaking fashion, Connor McDavid and company must rebound in a hurry if they want to stay in this best-of-seven. They haven't played poorly in either of the first two games against the Jets, you could actually make a pretty sound argument that they were actually the better team in each of the games, but they haven't been getting the bounces and they haven't done a good enough job finishing off their chances in the offensive zone.  As bad as the first two games have felt, the Oilers could tie this series up within 48 hours. That should have you feeling at least a little optimistic.

The pressure is officially on for the Edmonton Oilers as they head into game two of their opening-round series against the Winnipeg Jets, down 1-0. The result in game one is disappointing, but don't let the 4-1 score fool you, the Oilers played well enough to win that hockey game. They need to make some adjustments in game two but there is no reason to be discouraged if you're an Oilers fan. This is still a good team and they rarely lost two games in a row down the stretch. With the first game jitters officially out of the way, there are no more excuses for the Oilers tonight. They need to bring their 'A' game if they want to even up this series. What does the team need to do differently? I went through that and more today on the Playoff Pre Game Podcast.

IT'S TIME FOR THE PLAYOFFS! The Oilers will finally begin their best-of-seven series against the Winnipeg Jets tonight! It's been tough having to watch almost every other series in the league get going while we sat on the sidelines but now, things get real. The Oilers, and specifically Connor McDavid, dominated the Jets in the season series but that doesn't really matter now. The playoffs are a totally different beast. The Oilers will still need to bring their 'A' game if they want to move past the Jets and getting off to a good start in game one of the series will be massive. How can they do that? I gave my keys to victory in today's Pre-Game Podcast!

The Oilers will wrap up their regular season this afternoon with a mean-nothing game against the Vancouver Canucks. It'll be the final chapter of an incredible regular season for the orange and blue. That's the approach I took to today's Pre Game Podcast. There really isn't much to talk about when it comes to today's game so I went through some impressive numbers from the teams season, talked about some individual players that had really strong campaigns, and discussed some lineup notes and how they might impact the starting group for game one against the Jets. The goal today for Dave Tippett's team is just to stay sharp and not get injured. It's really as simple as that.

The games are really just getting more and more meaningless for the Edmonton Oilers. Since their overtime win on Monday against Montreal, the team has been locked into a playoff matchup against the Winnipeg Jets and no matter what happens in the final two games of their season, that can't change. So I guess the goals in the final two games are just to make sure that they keep up their strong play, enter the playoffs on a high note and make sure everyone is 100% healthy. That's really it. A win tonight would also bring the Oilers' record against the Canadiens this season up to 4-4-1. For me, the regular season can't end fast enough. The playoffs are so close that we know the likely start date for the series and I just want to watch some meaningful games. Until then, I guess tonight's game against the Habs will have to do.

The Oilers have locked up second place in the division and Connor McDavid has hit 100 points on the season. If you were to sit there and say that there isn't a lot for this team to play for, I wouldn't blame you. The team is saying all the right things and talking about how they can't take their foot off the gas ahead of the playoffs but let's be honest, the biggest priority this week is making sure nobody gets hurt. If the Oilers lose all three of these games but have their lineup at 100% come next week, then I won't complain. Of course, they want to keep up their strong play and make sure they're a confident group heading into the playoffs. Let's call this week the quest for healthy and confidence. It all starts tonight with the first of two games against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Oilers will be looking to avoid a second straight loss tonight as they wrap up a set of four-game straight games against the Vancouver Canucks. Really, the stakes for this game are the same as the last. With a win or an overtime loss, the Oilers will officially have home-ice advantage in round one of the playoffs (although if Winnipeg doesn't win their game today, that will also do the trick) and Connor McDavid will look to grab his 100th point of the season. He currently sits just four points away and he's already got nine in his last three games against Vancouver and has averaged 2.13 points against the Canucks this season. That's really all to watch for tonight as the Oilers hit the ice with the chance to win their 33rd game of the season.