RALEIGH, N.C. -- Throughout the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final, goalie Cam Ward and forward Cory
Stillman have been the guiding lights for the Carolina Hurricanes as they moved within one win of claiming
the Stanley Cup.
Ward entered the game with a 2.01 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. With a 14-6 record, and
a shutout in Game 2 of the Final, he is considered a shoo-in to be among the finalists for the Conn Smythe
Trophy. Stillman, meanwhile, has been Carolina's most clutch point getter. His assists on Eric Staal's
second-period goal extended his points streak to 13 games and, overall, he is tied for the team scoring lead
with Staal. Both players have a playoff-high 24 points.
Wednesday night, both Ward and Stillman again occupied the spotlight. Only this time, it was for all the wrong reasons as
they played prominent roles as Edmonton escaped elimination with a stunning 4-3 overtime victory in Game 5 at RBC Center. That win silenced a rabid crowd, one delirious with Cup fever. Now, Game 6 -- and Carolina's second of three chances to win its first
Stanley Cup -- will be played Saturday night at Edmonton's Rexall Place.
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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: CAR 2, EDM 1 | Photos |
| Gm. 5: EDM 4, CAR 3 OT | Photos |
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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Both Hurricanes figured prominently in the game-changing -- and perhaps series-changing -- play 3:31 into
the overtime period.
Carolina was on the power play after Edmonton defenseman Steve Staios was whistled for tripping Mark
Recchi. Suddenly it looked like Carolina had survived Edmonton's furious third-period onslaught and was ready
to cash in with a power-play unit that accounted for Carolina's first three goals in the game.
But, just as quickly the tide turned horribly for the 'Canes, thanks to a horrendous own-zone turnover by
Stillman that set Pisani in alone on Ward. Pisani capitalized, roofing a shot over Ward's glove and
under the crossbar to silence the crowd and cast a pall over the once-confident Hurricanes. It was the first
shorthanded, game-winning goal in the history of the Stanley Cup Final.
"Certainly not what we were hoping for when you get a power play," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said.
"The power play had been so effective all night and it's an opportunity to win a hockey game and it didn't
happen."
It didn't happen because Pisani got in hard on the forecheck, despite being in a shorthanded situation.
That pressured Staal to make a quick pass to Stillman along the boards, where he was chased down by an
equally aggressive Ethan Moreau. Looking to relieve the pressure, Stillman tried to re-connect with Staal
charging up the ice. The pass, too soft, was intercepted by Pisani, who broke in alone on Ward.
"A big mistake," Stillman said. "I know better than that. I've got to fire the puck hard. If I fired, it
would have at least got out of our zone and not ended up in the back of our net."
Asked if Moreau's slight tug at his wrist threw off the attempted pass, Stillman refused to embrace any
excuses.
"I don't know, I will have to see that one," he said of the replay. "But, you know what, whether there was
(a hook) or not, you know what, I gave the puck away, plain and simple."
Ward, so brilliant in the past three games of the series, also wasn't looking for excuses on either
the winning goal or his second four goals-against performance of this Final.
"It's unfortunate that it had to end that way, but, you know what, it's over and done with," Ward
said.
On the winning goal, Ward said that he thought he had Pisani figured out. In a way he did. Ward felt
Pisani was going to go glove-side and that is exactly where the Edmonton forward ticketed his shot. There was
just enough room between Ward's positioned glove and the crossbar, however, to allow Pisani to light the lamp
and save -- temporarily, at the least -- Edmonton's season.
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Cam Ward had played brilliantly up until Game 5, when he allowed the game-winning goal in overtime.
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"Give him credit, he made a nice shot," said Ward, who made 25 saves on the night. "I was kind of
anticipating glove and didn't think there was that much room. He put it right there."
As much as the winning goal might have hurt, Ward was also unhappy with his first-period showing as he
gave Edmonton early life by allowing three goals on just nine shots.
He allowed a deflected Chris Pronger slapper, ticked off the stick of Pisani, to beat him just 16 seconds
into the contest. Then, after his team took a 2-1 lead, he allowed Ales Hemsky to tie the game with a goal at
13:25. If that wasn't bad enough, Mike Peca scored with just 18 seconds left in the period, lifting a wrister
over a sprawled Ward, to give Edmonton the lead heading into the intermission.
"Obviously, it wasn't my sharpest period," Ward said. "It's tough when you go down 16 seconds into the
hockey game. But, the guys responded well and then, once again, they got kind of a lucky break toward the end
of the period there."
Both Carolina players, however, have done too much right in these playoffs to let their Game 5 meltdowns
send them into a deep depression. Each insisted he would be ready for Saturday's game, arguing that two rest
days are more than enough time to put Wednesday's nightmarish performance in the rear-view mirror.
"You've got to look at the positives," Ward said. "We still have a 3-2 lead and we played well the last
time we were in Edmonton. There's no sense in moping around about the loss. "
