PHOTO OF THE DAY

Edmonton goalies Jussi Markkanen and Ty Conklin talk things over at Tuesday's practice.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"This team has always rallied around adversity. It's a team that takes adversity and uses it to better themselves. Like last series, as much as coach Carlyle didn't believe that we had the flu bug, if he would have been in our room, he would have been going, like, oh my God, how are these guys playing hockey? It's been like that the whole playoffs. -- Injured Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson

GAME BREAKERS

Cam Ward (CAR): 34 saves Rod Brind'Amour (CAR): 2 goals Ray Whitney (CAR): 2 goals

TODAY'S SCHEDULE

Edmonton @ Carolina 8:00 PM (OLN, TSN, RDS) -- All times Eastern

RECENT EDITIONS

Tuesday, June 6, 2006 Monday, June 5, 2006 Friday, June 2, 2006 Thursday, June 1, 2006 Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Tuesday, May 30, 2006 Friday, May 26, 2006 Thursday, May 25, 2006 Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The series-ending injury to Dwayne Roloson shows the capricious nature of sports, where the one player credited with getting the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final must now watch its conclusion from the sidelines.

"You know, unfortunately, that's a part of sports," Roloson said. "Guys get injured. And unfortunately for me, it's the wrong time for me personally. You can't really feel sorry for yourself. You can't really feel sorry for anything else."

For the doctors among us, Roloson has a third-degree sprain of his MCL. He will heal with time, but the Oilers are out of time now, so Roloson is out of the series.

By necessity, the Oilers must move on. They feel bad for Roloson, a player many considered the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy, but the players and coaches realize they can't waste the time or energy on Roloson. It sounds cruel, but really it isn't, it is just the reality of things.

"As a player, you want to be out there helping your team win and have a chance to win the Stanley Cup," said Roloson, now reduced to the role of cheerleader. "You know, it's one of those things talking to the doctors this morning, I think 60 percent of man day losses are due to an MCL strain in the NHL. It's an injury that happens a lot and, unfortunately, it happened at the wrong time for me personally, I haven't had any bad injuries before, and it was pretty funny when the doctors looked at the MRI this morning. They asked me if I was actually a goalie because my knees were in great shape."

Roloson insists he will remain a part of this tight-knit team, but there will be difference no, there has to be as Jussi Markkanen and Ty Conklin become the goalies for the remainder of the Final.

"I hope my role doesn't change," Roloson said. "Obviously it's changed a little bit where I won't be on the ice, but still, I'll do whatever it takes to try and help our guys win.

"You know, like I said all along, we've got seven games to win four and we still have that opportunity. You know, we've got great goalies, between Ty and Jussi, and, you know, those guys wouldn't be in this League if they weren't great goalies. You know, I've got a lot of respect for both of them and I'm very confident that they will both do a great job."

"This team has always rallied around adversity. It's a team that takes adversity and uses it to better themselves. Like last series, as much as coach Carlyle didn't believe that we had the flu bug, if he would have been in our room, he would have been going, like, oh my God, how are these guys playing hockey? It's been like that the whole playoffs.

"Now it's just another person, and I'm sure the guys are going to be rallying and doing whatever it takes to win hockey games. The spirit in our room hasn't changed. So that shows you how tight this locker room is, and we're going to do whatever it takes to win."

"You never win a Stanley Cup without overcoming some adversity along the way, and so far to this point, we haven't had to overcome a lot," coach Craig MacTavish said. "We haven't faced an elimination game so far, and normally that's not the case. When you get to the Finals you've to overcome some of that. This is our test right now. Carolina passed theirs when they lost the first two games in the first round against Montreal and they had to bounce back. Otherwise, they wouldn't be here.

"So no team wins the Stanley Cup without a certain amount of resiliency, and we have to show some right now."