EDMONTON -- Saturday night, Carolina's offense evaporated as quickly as the two-day rain that blanketed this city was whisked away by a late-afternoon spell of sunny weather.
In the first two games of this Stanley Cup Final, the Hurricane offense looked virtually unstoppable as it piled up goals at a dizzying rate after a slow start through the first 37 minutes of Game 1. Once Rod Brind'Amour found the back of the net with a gimme goal at the 17:17 mark of the second period last Monday, the Hurricanes scored at will.
Four goals, including a power-play tally from Ray Whitney, in the final 20 minutes of Game 1 delivered a come-from-behind, 5-4 victory in the opening game. Then, in Game 2, Carolina torched emergency starter Jussi Markkanen -- pressed into service after starter Dwayne Roloson suffered a season-ending right knee injury late in the third period of Game 1 -- for five goals, including three man-advantage tallies, in an impressive shutout victory to take command of the series.
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Schedule / Links:
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| Gm. 1: CAR 5, EDM 4 | Photos |
| Gm. 2: CAR 5, EDM 0 | Photos |
| Gm. 3: EDM 2, CAR 1 | Photos |
Gm. 4: June 12, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
Gm. 5: June 14, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
*Gm. 6: June 17, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
*Gm. 7: June 19, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
| *if necessary |
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For those keeping score at home, that is 10 goals in the span of 82 minutes and 43 seconds, an ungodly rate of lamp lighting, nearly every eight minutes of playing time. But, that impressive run came to a halt Saturday night here at Rexall Place in Game 3, as the Hurricanes managed just one late third-period goal, again by Brind'Amour, in a 2-1 loss that changed the complexion of this series.
The Final continues with a crucial Game 4 here Monday night (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio).
Not surprisingly, it was Carolina's inability to convert on the power play that most readily explained the Hurricanes' sudden power outage Saturday.
Asked what was the biggest difference between the first two games and Saturday, Brind'Amour did not hesitate in his answer.
"Our power play," he said. "Our power play wasn't good at all. Horrible. That was the difference."
Carolina's power play, rated No. 1 entering the Final, was 4-of-15 in the first two games -- clearly taking the Oilers' rock-solid penalty killers by surprise. Saturday, however, Edmonton got back on track, killing all seven man-advantage opportunities enjoyed by Carolina.
Suddenly, the Oilers were a swarming mass of puck pursuers on the penalty kill, pressuring the Carolina point men, stepping into the shooting lanes and winning races to 50-50 pucks in the corners and behind the net.
On those occasions when Carolina was able to maintain possession on the power play, the Oilers proved adept at collapsing down low and protecting Markkanen from the point-blank opportunities that were a staple of the Carolina onslaught in Game 2.
Those have been the basic tenets of Edmonton's penalty-killing unit, a proud group that forged a legacy of unparalleled success in upsetting three higher seeds to reach this grand stage.
"I don't want to get too much into our tactics on the penalty kill," Craig MacTavish, the Oiler coach, said. "I will just leave it with that we got away from the staples of good penalty killing and we had that pretty much through the playoffs."
Carolina Coach Peter Laviolette allowed that Edmonton did a far better job Saturday night of denying his team time and space throughout the game, but especially when his side had an advantage in numbers.
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| Peter Laviolette wasn't happy with the Oilers ability to deny the 'Canes room and space throughout the game.
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"I think, especially in front of their net, they did a really good job of getting stick on stick, stick on puck, not making opportunities easy. When we did have some good quality chances in front, Markkanen made big saves for them."
Many of the team's power-play specialists pointed to the more aggressive nature of the Edmonton penalty killers, particularly the Oiler defensemen.
"They were being more aggressive on the penalty kill," Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican said. "Now we have to respond. Their defensemen were running at our guys on the half wall and forcing the decisions. We also have to be better getting up the ice and making better entries into the (offensive) zone."
Power plays, by their very nature, are streaky. Confidence plays a huge part of finding success with the man advantage. But, hard work also has its place, says Carolina forward Doug Weight, a staple on the Hurricane power-play unit. That grit, he argues, was absent from his team's attack Saturday night.
"We just didn't score on the power play," he explained. "We had some breaks last game. Now, we just got to get a little uglier. We got to win those one-on-one battles to have success there."
A lack of success with the man advantage can usually be overcome by strong offensive play at even strength. But, Carolina was also lacking in that department Saturday night. The Hurricanes managed just 14 shots in the first two periods, often having trouble breaking through Edmonton's more aggressive stance in the neutral zone which denied Carolina the build-up of speed that is fundamental to Carolina's transition game.
Yet, Weight says that his team started to put the pieces together by the third period. They managed 11 shots in that final frame and received yet another goal from Brind'Amour. This one came after Brind'Amour rifled a shot toward goal only to see it blocked by a sprawling Jason Smith. Fortunately, the puck came right back to his stick and he muscled it past a surprised Markkanen.
"We felt we started to take over the game in the third period," Weight said. "Now, it's 2-1 going into Game 4. It's a huge game. We have a lot of confidence in our team going into Game 4."
Confidence that could only be bolstered by the telling fact that the incessant rain had returned by the time they boarded their bus Saturday night to return to their downtown hotel.
