EDMONTON — There is a veteran calm in Edmonton now, as they head out on the road for one last, meaningless trip and into the final five games of their regular season.

They’ve finally located and mostly locked down their game, discovered more than adequate goaltending in Connor Ingram, and today the Oilers are a lock for a top-three spot in the Pacific — with the next-best team (Los Angeles) needing to make up seven points in their last six games to catch Edmonton for third place.

There is zero stress evident as the Oilers roll through Utah, San Jose and L.A. this week. Only an awareness of continuing to tighten up a defensive game that has secured wins in seven of the past 10 games, while the injured Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman stay at home to heal up for Round 1.

Gone is the fear of having to go through the Mighty Central Division any sooner than usual, a huge stress reliever in the Pillow Fight Division, and besides, Edmonton has accrued enough playoff scars to know that even home-ice advantage isn’t worth selling out for down the stretch.

“We like home-ice, but we know it’s not a necessity,” shrugged head coach Kris Knoblauch. “It’d be nice, but it’s not necessary.”

If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, and they have to tell themselves that they’ve always been better opening on the road, they won’t be lying.

“We still don’t have an ‘X’ beside our name, and that’s all we’re focused on. Seeding, positioning, it’s not all that important,” captain Connor McDavid said after Monday’s practice, a few hours before boarding the charter for Salt Lake City. “We feel good no matter where we start, but with that being said, we know our building, we know our home our fans and how excited they are. It is a difference maker.”

Truly, the biggest factor that affects Edmonton’s final five games prior to their seventh consecutive playoff appearance is the absence of Hyman and Draisaitl — a duo that is good for 85-100 goals per season.

Edmonton’s power play has taken a hit, with two goals (2-for-21) in the nine games that Draisaitl has missed, though the team has posted a 6-3 record over that span. Hyman and Draisaitl have been replaced on the powerplay by a rotating combination of Matt Savoie, Vasily Podkolzin and Jack Roslovic — nice players all, but not a one of them has ever posted a 25-goal season in the NHL.

So players can “step up” all they want over the last five games. The moment Draisaitl and Hyman are healthy, they’re back in and everyone else gets shuffled back down the roster.

“Hyman, I would think that he’s going to play one, if not two games before the end of the season,” Knoblauch said. “Leon is going to be on the ice this week (skating in Edmonton while the team travels), but I don’t anticipate him playing any games in the regular season. Sometime in that first round, if things go well.”

“Sometime in that first round, if things go well.”

As he said to the German media, hopefully the Oilers can play long enough for him to have a playoff team to return to when he’s healthy.

This is just another area, however, where an experienced team is not overreacting to the cards it has been dealt.

A year ago, Edmonton limped into Round 1 without an injured Mattias Ekholm. Trent Frederic would start Game 1, still limping from a high ankle sprain, and Josh Brown was on the third pairing because John Klingberg was injured. Evander Kane didn’t join the team until mid-round.

The Oilers survived Round 1 against Los Angeles — barely — and away they went.

“It throws a wrinkle, for sure,” Ekholm said of this year’s injuries, “but you’ve got to look at it as an opportunity for some other guys to step in and get bigger roles. More ice time and hopefully even more confidence going into the playoffs.

“As we get pieces back, that will be a boost itself. But hopefully we have guys that are on the level where they feel good about themselves and can contribute, even though maybe the minutes go down a little bit.”

These are the fruits of being a good team for a long time now.

Vegas has the same fruit. Anaheim and Utah do not.

That’s why a calm exists as the playoffs finally near in Northern Alberta. An excitement to get started, an ambivalence towards whomever the opponent may be.

The Utah/Arizona franchise, but for a series in the bubble season, hasn’t been in a real playoffs for 13 years. Anaheim has missed for seven years straight. They are both devoid of playoff experience as a franchise.

Despite a 5-1 loss to Vegas on Saturday, the Oilers have a strong confidence against a Golden Knights team they have defeated in nine of their past 11 meetings — including a five-game Round 2 last spring.

If you can’t win rounds against that collection of opponents, then maybe you should pack up and head to the lake.

Certainly, it’s not something to be stressed over with five games to play in the season.