The Edmonton Oilers rebounded on home ice to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final and can pull even in the series with a win in Game 4 at Rexall Place.
8 -- Playoff years between game-winning goals in the post-season for Ryan Smyth, who got the deciding tally in Game 3. Smyth had a pair of game-winners in the 1997 playoffs, but had not had one in the playoffs since then until Saturday night.
9 -- Number of times the Hurricanes' franchise (including the Hartford Whalers) has won Game 4 in a seven-game series, in 16 tries. The 'Canes are 2-1 in Game 4 this year, but lost their only previous Game 4 in the Finals, to Detroit in 2002.
10 -- Number of times in the last 13 playoff series that the team winning Game 4 of the Finals has won the Stanley Cup, including 2004, when the Tampa Bay Lightning blanked the Calgary Flames 1-0.
11 -- Points streak by Carolina's Cory Stillman, who set up the Hurricanes' only goal in Game 3. He can match teammate Eric Staal's 15-game streak, the longest since 1994, if the series goes seven games and he gets a point in each game. Staal is tied with Mario Lemieux for the fifth-longest streak in NHL history.
12 -- Times in 21 games during this year's playoffs that Carolina has allowed the game's first goal, including Game 3. The Hurricanes are 7-5 in those games.
13 -- Times in 20 games during this year's playoffs that the Oilers have scored first, including Horcoff's goal early in Game 3 that gave Edmonton a 1-0 loss. The Oilers are 10-3 when scoring first.
17 -- Faceoffs lost by Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour in Game 3, in 27 draws. Since going 28-6 on faceoffs in Game 1, Brind'Amour has gone 10-10 in Game 2 and 10-17 in Game 3.
|
| The Oilers have notched the first goal in 13 of 20 playoff games.
|
28 -- Faceoffs won by the Oilers in Game 3, against 20 losses, the exact reversal of Game 2, when the Hurricanes went 28-20 in the circle. Horcoff, who was 8-16 on draws in Game 1, improved to 8-8 in Game 2 and went 11-7 in Game 3, including 7-3 against Brind'Amour.
28:49 -- Ice time in Game 3 by Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger, the most by any player on either team. Pronger has had more ice time than anyone on either team in each of the first three games (29:15 in Game 1, 28:21 in Game 2).
40 -- Power plays in the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final, up from 33 in the first three games of the 2004 Final. The Oilers and Hurricanes each have had 20 advantages; in 2004, Tampa Bay had 19 after three games and Calgary had 15.
58 -- Number of shots blocked by the Hurricanes in the first three games after being credited with 17 in Game 3. The Oilers have blocked 35, including 13 in Game 3.
16,839 -- Size of the sellout crowd at Rexall Place for Game 3, the smallest at a Final game since Game 4 in 1996, when the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche packed a full house 14,703 into the Miami Arena. Rexall Place, though bigger than either Final venue 10 years ago, has the second-smallest seating capacity in the NHL (though what the Edmonton fans lack in numbers, they more than make up for in fervor).
