The last shall be first: the team least likely to survive at the start of the playoffs, the Oilers became the first to reach the Stanley Cup finals.(NHL)

Here's the new NHL in a nutshell: Back to 1980s-style fire wagon hockey, mullets optional. Spotlight skill and speed. Give small-market teams a chance to win.

Ladies and gentlemen, the National Hockey League presents the Edmonton Oilers.

The poster team for high-octane offense is in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1990. This time, there's no Mark Messier, no Paul Coffey, no Wayne Gretzky, no Grant Fuhr, no Jari Kurri--Hall of Fame-type players who defined the Oilers dynasty.

But there is Kevin Lowe. The linchpin defenseman in five Oilers championships, Lowe became general manager for a juggernaut time forgot. He soldiered through years in which financial factors forced him to peddle his best players--until this season, that is, when Lowe was afforded a luxury he couldn't have dreamed possible two years ago.

Under the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement, Lowe got a chance to do more than avoid financial ruin; he got the opportunity to win. For a change, he could re-sign key veterans and--miracle of miracles--acquire high-priced stars.

"Before this year Kevin was always one or two players short," Gretzky told the Edmonton Sun last weekend. Not any longer, thanks to two red-letter two-day spans.

* August 2-3, 2005. Lowe first acquired defenseman Chris Pronger, a cornerstone talent, then traded for center Michael Peca, a leader and defensive wizard.