EDMONTON: Despite the painful loss -- both literally and figuratively -- that Carolina suffered in Wednesday's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at RBC Center, the Hurricanes insisted the day after that all was well in their camp upon arriving here Thursday to begin preparations for Saturday's Game 6 at Rexall
Center.
Edmonton's Fernando Pisani scored a shorthanded goal at the 3:31 of overtime Wednesday night that delivered a season-saving, 4-3 win for the back-against-the-wall Oilers. It also put paid to any thoughts that Carolina would celebrate its first Stanley Cup title before a raucous home crowd.
So, the best-of-seven series continues with Saturday's Game 6, providing Carolina with the second of three chances to claim the all-important fourth win it needs to make its Cup dreams become a reality.
Now, the question for these resilient Hurricanes -- who overcame a two-games-to-none deficit against Montreal in the first round and won a Game 7 last round against Buffalo -- is whether or not they can absorb the series of body shots administered by Edmonton on Wednesday night.
"It's a heavyweight title fight, no question about it," defenseman Bret Hedican said. "Both teams are trying to win the Stanley Cup and both teams are hungry. Again, we're still up 3-2 in 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: 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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Pisani's goal, scored off a careless own-zone turnover, was the biggest counter punch as it extended a series many believed would end Wednesday night. A pair of bone-rattling hits by Raffi Torres also did their fair share of damage Wednesday night.
In the first minute, Torres plastered defenseman Aaron Ward against the sidebars and Ward saw only limited action for the rest of the first period. He missed the entire second period before making an emotional return late in the third period to take a regular shift. Early in the third period, Torres combined with hulking defenseman Chris Pronger to sandwich Doug Weight brutally, apparently injuring the arm of the Carolina
center. Weight left the ice immediately, but returned with less than two minutes left in regulation.
But, he never took another shift in the game; and many believe he returned to the bench to be on hand in case Carolina scored the goal that would deliver the Stanley Cup. Some media reports had Weight being sighted leaving RBC Center with his injured arm in a sling.
Not surprisingly, neither of the injured players was made available to the media during Thursday's availability after the team touched down here from a late-morning flight from Raleigh. But, Carolina coach Peter Laviolette insisted their was no story in the fact that neither of those players were among the handful
of players selected to meet the media.
"There's no (injury) update," Laviolette said. "Both guys finished the game."
While it is true that both Ward and Weight did return, it was also clear that neither was at full strength. It is also abundantly clear that veteran Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley labored his way through Game 5, suffering from an unspecified injury.
So, there are legitimate concerns that Carolina might be losing the war of attrition that becomes a more prominent theme as a series is extended into the final few games. Laviolette, though, wasn't buying that theory either.
"There's a lot of guys that are banged up," Laviolette said. "You make it this far in the playoffs and you are going to be banged up. We'll be ready (Saturday), I can tell you that."
Certainly the two-day respite before Game 6 will help Carolina get a modicum of health back, but the Hurricanes also know they will be in for a rough ride in Game 6 as the Oilers try to maintain their unexpected advantage.
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Doug Weight returned to the bench after suffering an injury during the third period, but he never played another shift.
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Throughout this series, even when it was at its bleakest for the Oilers, the unified front in their locker room talked about using their physical superiority to wear down Carolina's smaller and older blue line. By Game 5, that plan is finally bearing fruit.
Hedican, one of the few semi-healthy blueliners, says its clear that Edmonton's game plan is to dump the puck in deep and then punish the Carolina defensemen as they retreat to claim those pucks.
"What this is all about is trying to make the other team pay and pay anyway you can," Hedican said. "That's part of their game plan, but we have our game plan as well. Again, it's a long series."
Hedican, who played more than 25 minutes in Game 5, says that the best way to counter Edmonton's rock-em, sock-em game is for his team to utilize its superior speed.
"We've gotta keep pushing the pace of our play even more. We've gotten to it at times, especially last game, I felt we playing at the pace we know we can play at. I think if we want to win this series and win the Stanley Cup, we've got to play at that level."
The question, however, remains as to whether Carolina will have enough healthy bodies come Saturday to
accomplish that goal.
