Training Camp began with a total of 52 players and has dwindled down to just 28 -- including 17 forwards, nine defencemen and two goalies -- after forward Mattias Janmark and defenceman Dmitri Samorukov were placed on waivers Friday afternoon.
Tonight's pre-season finale is the last opportunity for some to impress, while others who can consider themselves more established in the lineup look to iron out some of the final wrinkles and put principle during Training Camp into practice before points are on the line in the regular season.
"I think it'll be the first game where we have close to the full lineup, so it's always an exciting game to see where you're at and the work you've put in over Camp," Barrie said. "I think we're all excited and then obviously in a couple of days, it really starts. We need a good game tonight and need to be sharp in every area that we can."
"We've got a pretty good understanding of what makes us successful in terms of the system and style we want to play, so we'll just keep adding little things to it."
BUILDING BELIEF
If an appearance in the Western Conference Final last season means anything to this group, it's that the belief they have in one another is justified.
"I think the expectation and the pressure has been here now, even before I got here," defenceman Tyson Barrie said. "That's nothing new, but I think the thing that's maybe changed in here is that you can feel the belief in here now."
It was a successful run for the Oilers, the deepest the club has been since a Game 7 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, but it's a clean slate for all 32 teams and Edmonton has to prove that their last post-season stint wasn't just an aberration.
"We know we're capable of a lot, but there's a lot of work that needs to be put in to get to that," Draisaitl said. "You don't get handed anything in this league, so we have to make sure that starting next week on Wednesday that we're ready to go and ready to work for what we deserve.
"I think if we do that, we stick to our game plan and we work and compete as a team, I think our skill will take over. There's lots of excitement in our group, but we have to work for that first."