RALEIGH, N.C. -- A stunning comeback, phenomenal goaltending and the bitter loss of a star player to injury all made Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final both unforgettable and vexing for both the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers.
The Hurricanes got the important win, 5-4, after falling into a three-goal hole in midway through the second period, capitalizing on the tremendous work of rookie goalie Cam Ward.
The comeback from the three-goal deficit equaled the largest comeback in Stanley Cup Final history.
For the Oilers, the loss was especially devastating as goalie Dwayne Roloson, a leading contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy headed into the Final, suffered a knee injury late in the third period and is out for the remainder of the playoffs.
The Oilers have to solve their goaltending question Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday night's Game 2 (8 p.m. ET, OLN, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio). Ty Conklin came on in relief for the Oilers and it was a miscommunication between him and defenseman Jason Smith behind the net that allowed Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour to gain control of the puck and jam it into the empty net with just 32 seconds remaining in the third period.
|
|
Schedule / Links:
| |
| Gm. 1: CAR 5, EDM 4 | Photos |
Gm. 2: June 7, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Carolina (OLN, CBC, RDS) |
Gm. 3: June 10, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
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 |
|
"It wasn't much that I did," Brind'Amour admitted on the winning goal. They had a little mix up, I'm not sure who the defenseman was. There was a mix up on who was going to get it and, obviously, the goalie is behind the net. Just a matter of flipping it into the net. Don't get too many of those, but I'll definitely take them."
"I think I just held on to the puck too long," goalie Conklin said. "I didn't make the play quickly. That was a mistake that I would normally make."
Despite the defeat and the loss of Roloson, the Oilers took solace in the way they played, especially in the first 40 minutes when they had the game under complete control.
"We are very confident we will bounce back from this," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "Our goaltenders are capable of coming in here and playing well. I felt we played a solid game and we can bounce back from this."
After building a one-goal lead after one period off a goal by Fernando Pisani, and a 3-1 lead after two, the Oilers appeared to be in the driver's seat, but two quick goals off the stick of Ray Whitney tied the game up at three and set off a wild ending.
"We didn't play well enough to win the first two periods," said Carolina coach Peter Laviolette, who admitted to being confused about how to feel about the win since his team did little in the first two periods to earn it.
"I'm a big believer that you play the game the right way and you'll win more than you lose," Laviolette said. "We're gonna take this win and work on how we play."
Brind'Amour had gotten the Hurricanes on the board at 17:17 of the second period to give the 'Canes and their raucous fans a glimmer of hope.
"That goal, it gave us a jump start," Laviolette said. "It put us in the ballgame. It was 3-0 and you get on the board and that's important. We were able to start getting to the net a little bit better. We got our feet going a little bit.
"I think it's human nature when you're down to raise your level and when you're up to take a breath," Laviolette said. "And that may be enough, along with trying to push the pace and push the puck sometimes."
It certainly worked for the 'Canes Monday night.
Whitney scored at 1:40 on a blistering drive from the left circle to make it 3-2. He connected again on the power play at 5:09, converting the rebound of a Mark Recchi shot to knot things, 3-3.
|
|
The Oilers and 'Canes traded hits and scoring chances in the early going.
|
And when Jason Williams converted a shorthanded breakaway at 10:02, the Hurricanes were in front by a goal, 4-3.
But the Oilers weren't done, as they scored a power-play goal at 13:31 when Ales Hemsky took an slick pass from Jarret Stoll and swooped in on Ward to once again tie the game, 4-4.
Despite allowing the four goals, Ward was brilliant, including a phenomenal stop on Shawn Horcoff in the dying seconds that prevented the Oilers from forcing overtime.
"I think it is pure reaction," Ward said, pointing specifically to the game saver on Horcoff, when he sprawled and threw his glove out, denying the tying bid. "The play that Ryan Smyth made, obviously a great play, through the legs and to pass back to Horcoff. I just dropped and just out of pure desperation put my glove out there and was very fortunate to make the save."
A Chris Pronger goal on a penalty shot, the first successful penalty shot in Stanley Cup Final history, became little more than a footnote by game's end, but at the time, 10:36 of the second period, it had huge implications, giving Edmonton a 2-0 lead.
The Oilers had been putting lots of pressure on the Carolina net, and referee Mick McGeough was emphatic in signaling that Carolina defenseman Niclas Wallin had covered the puck in the crease, hence a penalty shot.MacTavish selected Pronger to take it and the big defenseman took a slow, deliberate route on Ward and beat him with a rising shot.
"Pronger came in a little slower than expected and he made a really good shot," Ward said. "That's a tough area to stop. Again, it's how you respond to those situations that matter."
And Ward responded brilliantly, despite allowing the Oilers' third goal at 16:23, when Ethan Moreau's wrist shot from the right side deflected off Hurricanes defenseman Aaron Ward and into the net.
"He played great," Laviolette said of his young goalie. "He definitely played outstanding hockey. There's a couple goals he had no chance on just based on re-directs. There were some that should have been in the net and weren't because of his play.
"You see him on the ice, you see him up here and his demeanor," the coach said. "He's just a real level-headed kid. I don't think a situation like this, being in the Stanley Cup Final, phases him. He's a competitor. He's been in a lot of situations, but not a Stanley Cup situation, and probably feels right at home."
For the Oilers, there is some soul searching to do, but MacTavish indicated his team will be ready for Game 2.
"We got seduced late in the second period into trading chances," MacTavish said. "As a team, when you're up three goals goals, you want to be very selective in terms of how aggressive you're going to chase the puck up ice. But I was happy with the way we played, certainly to start the game after a layoff. I though we were sharp. But the disappointing thing was that we didn't manage our game mentally as well as we should have given the circumstances."
