Oilers Take Home Ice Nostalgia to the Next Level With Something Special for Game 1 of the Final

To Kane, it means a piece of Northshore Winter Club ice under his skates. To others, it is a connection with the hometown arenas that were a part of their early years.

'Oh, really? Obviously, I didn't know that story,' the Oilers forward said at the podium during media day at Rogers Place on Tuesday. 'It's kind of cool.'

'We had some great teams in minor hockey, won a Quebec tournament, Western Canadians, we had a lot of success in junior and won a lot at an early age,' said Kane, 33, who grew up in East Vancouver, and is playing for his sixth NHL team since being drafted fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009. 'I've always joked - you go through your youth hockey career and you kind of win everything - won a Memorial Cup (with his hometown Vancouver Giants in 2007), won a world junior (with Team Canada in 2009), all that type of stuff.

'And then you get to the NHL, and if you're a top pick you go to one of the worst teams in the NHL. So, it's tough to get used to losing, but to get to this point in my career, to be able to have a chance to win again is special and it's something I definitely don't take for granted.'

Edmonton only finished with three more points than Florida in the standings

Even though Edmonton begins the series with a slight positioning over the Panthers in the standings, finishing just three points ahead of Florida, it is an emotional advantage that is most likely to derive from the act.

It places the contemporary pursuit of the Stanley Cup in the context of the one begun years ago on less vaunted ice.

Those early facilities had no TV cameras or sold-out crowds, but that's where dreams were planted. Today, with a chance to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup since 1990, those reminders are literally written on the ice beneath them.