RALEIGH, N.C. -- There's no question the Edmonton Oilers are in a desperate situation, down three games to one in the Stanley Cup Final, with Game 5 Wednesday night in Raleigh. There's nothing worse than standing in your opponent's building and watching them hoist the Stanley Cup. Unless, it's standing in your own building and seeing that happen.
The Oilers must win three-straight games, two of them in Raleigh's RBC Center. Players in this situation always say they must find a way.
The best way to find your way is with a compass and a map.
Edmonton's compass is a moral one. The moral compass of the Oilers is integrity, hard work and commitment to each other. The core of the team has been together for more than five years and has gone through good times and bad. They're friends, involved with each other's families and they care for each other.
They thrilled to the return of old teammate Rem Murray from a career-threatening illness. They know Murray makes them stronger defensively. Their support is visible. They gave him a locker location amidst the longest-serving veterans.
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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: 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) |
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For more evidence, we offer the goalie situation. Jussi Markkanen and Ty Conklin struggled with injuries early in the season that affected their play. General Manager Kevin Lowe knew there were a dozen Western Conference teams that would fight to the wire for the Western Conference's eight playoff spots and he didn't have the luxury of time to let the situation resolve itself. He first turned to minor-league prospect Mike Morrison and, when that didn't work, he traded for the backup goalie of his Northwest Division rival Minnesota Wild, Dwayne Roloson. "Roli the goalie" helped secure the West's eighth seed and provided the standout play that helped the Oilers upset the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. That made the Oilers the first No. 8 seed to not only reach the Stanley Cup Final but two win two rounds of the playoffs.
Roloson was hurt in Game 1 and Conklin replaced him. A late puck-handling mistake led to a 5-4 loss and coach Craig MacTavish started Markkanen in Games 2, 3 and 4. Markkanen will start again in Game 5. Is Conklin pouting in the corner, seeking to form a team faction that thinks he should play or telling the media that Markkanen has lost two of three starts? No, he sits at the front of the room, answers questions with a smile and does all he can to convince fans and media that the team is united and capable of becoming the first finalist to overcome a 3-1 deficit since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.
Roloson didn't get on a plane and head off on vacation. Although he's the team's newest member, he's around the dressing room, offering his support. But, there's been no quotes, no media availability, since the day after his injury. The spotlight is off him and on Markkanen. That's how a professional handles the situation.
While fans speculate on roster substitutions that might turn the tide, MacTavish sticks with what "brung" him. He made one significant change, substituting point-producing defenseman Dick Tarnstrom for young blueliner Marc-Andre Bergeron, whose confidence is shaken after his role in the collision that injured Roloson and an inadvertent deflection of Andrew Ladd's game-winning goal in the Game 2, 5-0 defeat. The move is more properly seen as letting a youngster come back to fight another day than one of desperation.
When members of the media asked if MacTavish was ready to scrap the basic plan of a power-play that is 1-for-25 in this series and has failed on 5-on-3s in four-straight games, the coach said the answer is more movement, better shots and harder work in front of vexing rookie Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward.
What to do? Is there an element that can put these Oilers over the top and poised to lift the organization's sixth Stanley Cup and first in 16 years?
Yes, and leadership is that element.
Taking nothing away from the Hurricanes' considerable leadership, consisting of captain Rod Brind'Amour and veterans Cory Stillman, Ray Whitney, Aaron Ward, Doug Weight, Mark Recchi, Kevyn Adams, Craig Adams, Glen Wesley, Frankie Kaberle and Bret Hedican (whew!), the Oilers answer with captain Jason Smith, alternate captains Ethan Moreau and Ryan Smyth, Chris Pronger, Steve Staios and Mike Peca. To add more names and fail to mention others, would go against the Oilers' way.
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"You just watch Jason Smith, Steve Staios, Ryan Smyth, Ethan Moreau, Mike Peca, Chris Pronger, all these guys, watch them play, how they prepare, how they just act off the ice and they are great pros." - Jarret Stoll
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No wonder these two teams are in the Stanley Cup Final.
Smith is revered by his teammates. The man will do anything within the rules of hockey to win. That is, he is a true sportsman. He plays the game with integrity and character, gives his all and, as he proved in Game 3, against a rising Brind'Amour slap shot, he'll block a shot with any part of his body if it will help his team win.
The old adage in hockey is that a defenseman has had a good game if you don't notice him. Most nights, that description fits Smith. He came up with the New Jersey Devils, perhaps the best training ground in the NHL for defensemen, and when his time came to enter the NHL, the Devils had a glut of excellent defenseman. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during a down cycle and was booed out of town, taking the brunt of fans' ire while the team was rebuilding. The Oilers grabbed a big, big bargain when they rescued Smith from his torment.
Assisting Smith are Smyth and Moreau, core elements of the team's leadership.
Then there are former NHL captains Peca (Sabres and Islanders), Staios (Thrashers) and Pronger (Blues).
Hard-nosed center Jarret Stoll, the captain of his junior team, the Kootenay Ice, was asked how the senior leadership affects the younger talented Oilers.
"I think any successful team needs a very good core group of guys," said Stoll. "For example, the leadership core of this team. Maybe guys don't have an A or C on their jersey, but the core group of guys that we have on this team is unbelievable, the guys that have been here six, seven, eight years, through the tough times of the 'Dallas days,' losing to Dallas in the first round all the time and just falling short that way.
"You just watch Jason Smith, Steve Staios, Ryan Smyth, Ethan Moreau, Mike Peca, Chris Pronger, all these guys, watch them play, how they prepare, how they just act off the ice and they are great pros. That's something that I am learning. That's something that we are all learning as young players on our team. And, they are definitely great guys to learn from. They always set that right example, whether we're on the ice, off the ice, on the road whatever the case may be. These guys are perfect guys to learn from and I am definitely taking it all in, just learning as much as I can to hopefully become a better player and better pro. That's the bottom line there."
MacTavish is the titular leader of the Oilers and he recognizes the help he gets from the team's senior leaders.
"A lot of these players have been here for a long time and they (posses) similar traits and characteristics that the Oilers have held in high esteem for a long time," said MacTavish, a former Oilers captain and three-time Stanley Cup winner with the team. "We have a lot of guys that come from other organizations, guys like Ethan Moreau, Steve Staios, Jason Smith, that have great character, great selflessness, definitely a physical edge, and they are all traits that we hold in high esteem. ... Your best players have to be your best examples and your leaders have to be your best examples, otherwise you get a double standard and that's lethal for coaches. We're fortunate that we have those types of players embody what the Oilers' work ethic is all about. It's invaluable in the organization to have those types of players."
