RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Edmonton Oilers will live forever with the pain of knowing they were a goal away from tying the Carolina Hurricanes late in the third period of Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final and their best efforts were thwarted by their opponent's excellence team defense and rookie Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie.
Even with an extra Edmonton skater on the ice in the final 1:40, Carolina's team defense in its own zone led to a 2-on-1 breakout against their top defenseman, Chris Pronger, and Justin Williams' empty-net goal with 1:01 left in the game that made the final score, 3-1. The final score wasn't reflective of the fierce play in the third period, but the final score wasn't their main focus.
"It's tough anytime you lose," said captain Jason Smith. "Everybody in our room feels like we could have won the game. We did a lot of good things. When you see how excited and how good they feel out on the ice and in the other room, it definitely hurts."
"Let's be honest, you come all this way, you want to win the Stanley Cup," said first-line center Shawn Horcoff. "That's your goal. When it doesn't happen, it's tough to deal with that."
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"Too come up short just a little bit is tough to take," said goaltender Jussi Markkanen, who went into the Edmonton net in Game 2 of the Final after starter Dwayne Roloson was hurt in the Game 1 loss. "At the same time, you have to be proud that your team got this far."
The Oilers knew they wouldn't have made it to Game 7 without the clutch play of Markkanen, who enhanced his reputation as much or more than any other player in the Stanley Cup Final.
"Jussi was outstanding," Smith said. "He was unbelievable the way he dealt with the pressure he was put under from the moment he jumped in. He was a huge part of us getting to Game 7.
"Jussi was unbelievable. He came up big for us and hopefully it's a big step in his career," Horcoff agreed. "He'll come back next year and take off from where he left off and the experience will help us get back in the same situation again."
"I have never seen a guy come in under that much pressure and hold himself together so well and play so well for us," said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish. "He made some incredible saves tonight. And for a guy that hadn't played for as long as he hadn't played to come in and have this type of a performance was certainly inspirational to me and his teammates tonight. And the way that he played -- you talk about, you know, good things happen to good people at times."
"The time to evaluate my play will be in a few days," Markkanen said. "Right now, the only feeling right now is that when you get so close, it's even more disappointing to lose and see the other team raise the Stanley Cup.
"Our coach told us that even though we didn't win the Stanley Cup today, we should respect ourselves as winners," Markkanen said. "After a few a days, we can put things in perspective."
The Oilers finished in eighth place in the Western Conference and became not only the first No. 8 seed to reach the Final, but the first to win two playoffs rounds. They took pride in that, but it was difficult to talk about it in the minutes after shaking the hands of the Stanley Cup winners.
"It was a great experience. When you get this close, it's tough to take," Markkanen said. "It was a great run for the whole team for a couple of months. What I will remember is a great bunch of guys and unbelievable character in the room."
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Jussi Markkanen was outstanding in Game 7, giving the Oilers the opportunity to win.
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Players on both teams said the first goal would be critical to the outcome and the Oilers were stunned when Aaron Ward's screened shot went under Markkanen 1:26 into the first period.
"It was big," MacTavish said. "I thought if we got through the first period, down one goal after the way I saw the game was starting, that we would be poised and in good position. But then Cam Ward shut the door on a few chances that we had in the third period."
"(Ward) made great saves there, a couple of them on Raffi Torres and Fernando Pisani," Horcoff said. "We have to give him credit. We couldn't find the way to score the tying goal. It was frustrating."
Horcoff said the Oilers dug a hole for themselves in Game 1, when they opened a three-goal lead, gave up four straight goals, got one back and lost on a puck-handling mistake in the final minutes. From that point on, it was an uphill climb and the Hurricanes were too good an opponent.
"I think the fact we gave them the game in Game 1 obviously hurt us. Not closing that game out was a big disadvantage for us and put us in a hole. Against a quality team like that, you can't do that," he said.
