Is this the year Canada's Stanley Cup drought ends?

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It's been 30 years since a Canadian-based team won the Stanley Cup. But, with two of them finishing in the top six of the NHL's overall standings, there's a reasonable chance the drought ends this year — even, perhaps, with an all-Canadian final.

As the Stanley Cup playoffs open tonight with four games, including Edmonton hosting Los Angeles, here's a look at the three Canadian clubs vying to hoist the best trophy in sports:

Can Connor McDavid take the Oilers all the way?

The world's best player ran away with his third straight Art Ross Trophy (and fifth of his career) after racking up 153 points — the most in a season by anyone other than Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman. McDavid also took his goal-scoring to new heights this season, potting a league-high 64 to capture his first Rocket Richard Trophy. Now he'll try to eliminate the only conceivable knock against him by leading his team to a championship.

Edmonton made inroads last year, advancing to the conference finals for the first time in the McDavid era before getting swept by eventual-champion Colorado. They've since blossomed into legit title contenders, posting the second-best record in the Western Conference and the sixth-best overall. They're peaking at the right time too, closing the regular season with nine straight wins and an 18-2-1 record since March 1.

Fuelled by a lethal power play with the best success rate ever recorded (32.4 per cent), Edmonton scored the most goals in the league and had the NHL's first trio of 100-point teammates in 27 years in McDavid, Art Ross runner-up Leon