Winding down an eight-game exhibition schedule by losing twice in convincing fashion to the Settle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks by getting outscored by a combined 10-3 as teams trend closer and closer to opening-day lineups might not be the most convincing way to steady the fan base heading into the regular season.

The Vancouver Canucks capped off their preseason play with a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Vancouver had four different goal scorers, solid goaltending from Artūrs Šilovs, and saw solid performances from their special teams' units.

As the regular season approaches, the urgency to improve is increasing for the reigning Stanley Cup finalists.

The Edmonton Oilers ended their pre-season slog with a 4-1 loss in Vancouver Friday night. The line-up was a relative facsimile of what will likely start the season on Wednesday against Winnipeg.

A few players on the Oilers need to step up. Here are 3 players that need big seasons if the Oilers are going duplicate last seasons' success

At least the pre-season is over. View the original article to see embedded media. That's the best news out of Friday night's loss to the Vancouver Canucks. There were very few positives to come out of the Oilers' final tune-up before the regular season starts on Wednesday.

Forward Arshdeep Bains hopes his final audition was good enough to earn him a spot in the Vancouver Canucks cast when the curtain opens on the NHL regular season. Bains scored on the power play and added an assist as Vancouver defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 in the final pre-season game for both teams Friday night.