Sport-Blog.com

By Ed Jennett

It could have been three strikes and you are out for Carolina. But the Hurricanes finally got their act together in their third and final chance to win the Stanley Cup. Carolina had taken a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 series lead over the Oilers after winning Game 4 in Edmonton. But the Oilers were determined to pull off a fourth straight series upset and won the next two games to set up Game 7 in Carolina.

The Hurricanes won the game, the series, and the Cup. But just as they had throughout the series, the Oilers made it interesting. Here is a recap of the games:

Game 1: Everything started out so well for the Edmonton Oilers. Then everything fell apart. Edmonton outplayed Carolina for the first 40 minutes of the game. The Oilers entered the third period up 3-1. Carolina had been down 3-0 before captain Rod Brind'Amour scored to cut the deficit to two late in the second period. Hurricanes forward Ray Whitney then tied the score quickly by scoring twice in the first five minutes of the third period. Forward Justin Williams gave Carolina the lead five minutes later on a shorthanded breakaway goal. The Oilers tied the score at four when forward Ales Hemsky netted a goal three and a half minutes later. Brind'Amour prevented overtime by scoring the game winning goal with 32 seconds remaining.

The thrilling comeback of the Hurricanes tied the record for overcoming a deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals. But it was not the only huge story of this game. Oilers All-Star defensemen Chris Pronger became the first player to successfully score on a penalty shot in Stanley Cup Finals history. Edmonton goaltender Dwayne Roloson was lost for the remainder of the series due to a knee injury sustained late in the third period. Ty Conklin took over between the pipes for Edmonton in relief of Roloson.

Game 2: Momentum is an incredible force in professional sports. Carolina certainly had it after their come from behind Game 1 victory over Edmonton, and that momentum definitely carried over in to Game 2. The Hurricanes dominated the Oilers in all aspects of the game en route to a 5-0 Game 2 victory and a 2-0 lead in the series. Edmonton was not just outplayed at even strength by the Hurricanes. Carolina also scored three times on their power play. The Hurricanes stopped all six of the power plays of the Oilers as well.

The Oilers turned their goaltending duties over to Jussi Markkanen. He gave up five goals on just 26 shots, but that was not indicative of his play. Edmonton allowed Carolina to have many odd man rushes, and some of the goals were the result of the Hurricanes simply getting better bounces than the Oilers. That is clearly proof that the belief that the better team gets the bounces is true. At least on this night it was anyway.

Game 3: Symmetry was the name of the game in Game 3. The series shifted to Edmonton and the Oilers skated to a 2-1 win to cut their deficit to in the series to 2-1. Although the winning goal has been considered controversial, it too tied in with the symmetric theme of the game.

Forward Ryan Smyth and the puck entered the crease at the same time. The puck bounced around and ended up behind Ward and in the net. Carolina believed that the goal should not have counted because Smyth was in the crease. Edmonton believed that Smyth was pushed into the crease by Hurricanes defenseman Aaron Ward. The play was reviewed and it was determined that Smyth showed no intent to interfere with Carolina goaltender Cam Ward.

Despite what any one thinks about the validity of the Smyth goal, it was definitely justice. The Oilers had clearly scored another goal earlier in the game that was waved off. It was clear to everyone in the building except for one of the referees, who had lost site of the puck and blew his whistle right before Edmonton scored.

Game 4: Apparently having veterans on the team that have already won the Stanley Cup is a great idea. Carolina flipped the script on Edmonton with a 2-1 victory in Game 4. The Hurricanes goals were scored by veteran forwards Mark Recchi and Cory Stillman. Recchi won a Cup while he was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991. Stillman won a Cup while he was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.

The Oilers struck first to take a 1-0 lead in the first period. That lead did not last long as Edmonton forward Raffi Torres took a tripping penalty on the ensuing faceoff. It was a tied game 12 seconds later after the power play goal of Stillman. Recchi scored the game winner with just over four minutes remaining in the second period.

Game 5: Hurricanes fans showed up ready for a coronation and celebration. Their team apparently did not show up ready for anything. Edmonton forward Fernando Pisani score 16 seconds into the game to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. While Eric Staal tied the game five and a half minutes later, Edmonton had already established that the game was not going to be a party. It was going to be a battle.

That battle went into over time with the game tied at 3 apiece. The man that started the game quickly ended the game quickly as well. Pisani scored the game winner on a shorthanded goal three and a half minutes into overtime. It was the first shorthanded overtime goal in the history of the Stanley Cup Finals. The second tally of Pisani was also the first shorthanded overtime goal that kept a team from being eliminated.

Game 6: The Carolina Hurricanes were still stunned by the heroics of Pisani in Gave 5. That could be the only explanation for their atrocious performance in Game 6. Carolina did not show up to play at the start of Game 5. But the Hurricanes never showed up at all for Game 6.

The lopsided result was the Edmonton Oilers dominating the game to earn a 4-0 victory and tie the series at 3 games apiece. It also put the Oilers in position to be the first team to rally from being down 3-1 in the Finals and win the Cup since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.

Game 7: Momentum was not on the side of the now slumping Hurricanes. But history definitely was. In the history of the Stanley Cup Finals, the home team had won 11 of 13 Game 7s. Also on the side of Carolina were the intense Hurricane fans, who were standing and cheering throughout the game and giving their team support and a boost of energy.

The Hurricanes led 2-0 heading into the final 20 minutes. But Pisani quickly got the Oilers back into the game scoring a little over a minute into the third. Carolina Forward Justin Williams finally finished off Edmonton with an empty net goal with one minute and one second left in the third period.

The victory marked the first ever Stanley Cup Champioship for the franchise, which was formerly the Hartford Whalers. Hurricanes goaltender won the Conn Smythe Award and the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs on the strength of his 15 wins, 2.14 goals against average, and .920 save percentage.