NHL - Stanley Cup Playoffs

Jussi Markkanen
The Hurricanes failed to keep Jussi Markkanen busy over the final period-plus of Game 5.
Inside the numbers (Game 5)
By John Kreiser
NHL.com columnist
June 15, 2006

The Edmonton Oilers spoiled Carolina's party Wednesday night, stunning the Hurricanes with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at the RBC Center. The Oilers now have a chance to get even when the series returns to Edmonton for Game 6 Saturday night.

Here are some key numbers from Game 5 and some to look forward to in Game 6.

1 -- Number of times in the Oilers' first six trips to the Final that they've had to play a sixth game. That came in 1987, when they took a 3-1 lead against Philadelphia, lost Games 5 and 6, but won Game 7 to take their third Stanley Cup. The Oilers have won three times in five games, once in four games (plus a suspended game) and were swept in their only Final loss in 1983.

2 -- Shots on goal by the Hurricanes in the final 23:34 of playing time. The Hurricanes had 22 shots in the first two periods, but managed just two shots in the third period and none in overtime. The Oilers out-shot Carolina 5-2 in the third period and 7-0 in overtime.

5 -- Games in which the Hurricanes have been tied after two periods. Wednesday night's game marked the first time this playoff year that Carolina lost when the score was even after 40 minutes.

John Kreiser, who has covered the NHL since 1975, is NHL.com's man behind the numbers. His column appears each weekend on NHL.com.

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7 -- Shorthanded overtime goals in Stanley Cup history. Edmonton's Fernando Pisani became the seventh player - and the first ever in the Final - to win a game with a shorthanded goal in OT. Pisani is the second player to score shorthanded in overtime this season. Buffalo's Joel Pominville eliminated Ottawa with a shorthanded OT goal in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

13 -- Number of times the Hurricanes' franchise (including Hartford) has played a sixth game in a playoff series. The Hurricanes are 7-6 in Game 6s, including 1-1 this season and 3-0 in 2002, when they made the Final when by closing out each of their first three series in six games. All five of those games have been on the road, as will Saturday night's Game 6 in Edmonton.

15 -- Times in their 22 games this year that the Oilers have scored first in the playoffs, including their Game 5 victory over Carolina. The Oilers are 11-4 when they get the first goal.

16 -- Playoff games this year in which there has been at least one power play awarded in overtime, including Game 5. Teams have scored only with the man advantage in OT, while allowing two shorthanded goals.

20 -- Overtime games this season, in 81 games played. That's one more OT game than in 2004, but well behind the Stanley Cup record of 28 in 2003.

22 -- Blocked shots by the Hurricanes in Game 5, six more than the Oilers. Carolina has blocked more shots than Edmonton in each of the first five games of the Final.

25:36 -- Time on ice by Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican in Game 5, the most by any Hurricane. It was the first time in the series that Rod Brind'Amour (22:30) didn't lead his team in ice time. Four other Hurricanes also had more ice time than Brind'Amour.

167 -- Number of playoff games in which Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley has played in without winning a Stanley Cup after Edmonton spoiled Carolina's hopes by winning Game 5. Wesley has also played 1,311 regular-season games without winning a Cup.

2001 -- Last time a team took a 3-1 lead into a Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals at home and lost. New Jersey lost Game 5 to Dallas in overtime, then won Game 6 and the franchise's second Stanley Cup with a road victory in Game 6.

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