No other team in NHL history has scored 400 goals in one season. The Edmonton Oilers did it five times, peaking at 446 in 1984. These boys could score goals at a pace more alarming than anybody since they first started games of pond shinny.

At the heart of all this was a skinny kid from Brantford, Ontario. Wayne Gretzky, who moved into the NHL in 1979 from the dismantled World Hockey Association, proved as elusive as he was dynamic. Defenders found they couldn't stop what they couldn't hit, and Gretzky simply kept pouring in goals and setting up his winger, Jari Kurri.

Gretzky was always friendly, accessible, and respectful. But the Oilers were a young, cocky bunch. They had fun. They liked to run and gun and leave goalie Grant Fuhr on his own to bail them out.

At first, the Oilers were often a joke defensively. Paul Coffey could score like no Defenseman in the history of hockey, but he'd abandon his position too frequently to roam the ice. But as the seasons went on, the Oilers matured. So did their game. They buckled down defensively when needed.

The Oilers never won three Stanley Cups in a row. Some pundits claim 'Three-peating' is the true mark of a Dynasty. But the Oilers' accomplishment of five in seven years ranks with the best. The fourth Cup came in 1988, without Coffey, who was traded away after one too many spats with General Manager and Head Coach Glen Sather. The 5th cup came without Gretzky, dealt to Los Angeles in a trade that shocked the sports world. This fifth win obviously speaks volumes about those who remained.

Mark Messier started out as a big, raw-boned kid. He developed into one of the strongest, most charismatic leaders in the sport. His teammates claimed you could see victory in his eyes. He became transfixed. His incredible will, his powerful body and skating stride, and his powerful wrist shot could always be counted on in the most crucial moments.

Fuhr's numbers will never compare with those of the original six teams' goalies. The Oilers abandoned defense on many nights and Fuhr's attention span would wander at times. But as far as quickness of reflex and clutch play, few goalies were ever better. Kevin Lowe was a dependable, mature force on defense. Enigmatic Glenn Anderson was another matter on wing. Too often his concentration would waver during the season. But Anderson also used amazing foot speed to score some of Edmonton's most crucial playoff goals.

Sather used brawlers like Dave Semenko, Kevin McClelland, and Marty McSorley to protect Gretzky. He used Esa Tikkanen to agitate and check, along with Craig MacTavish, who was successfully rehabilitated after a drunken-driving conviction involving a fatality. Sather could incorporate such European talents as Reijo Ruotsalainen, Kent Nilsson, and Petr Klima - and discard them just as easily. Sather used the remnants of the Gretzky and Jimmy Carson trades to acquire such kids as Adam Graves, Joe Murphy, and Martin Gelenas, and to squeeze out one more Stanley Cup in 1990. Craig Simpson, who arrived in the Coffey deal from Pittsburgh, scored a whooping 30 playoff goals in the final half of the glory era.

Why didn't they go on to win six or seven successive Cups? Owner Peter Pocklington's financial problems caused the Oilers to eventually sell off their best talent. It became impossible to pay everyone. In 1986, teammate Steve Smith banked a shot off the unsuspecting Fuhr in a Game 7 playoff loss to Calgary. It was a stunning moment that led to elimination. But this explains only one loss. In the end, lack of money ended the Oilers' reign.