RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Edmonton Oilers players and coach said all the right things in the wake of their 5-4 loss but their stricken faces told a different story. They had what seemed like an insurmountable 3-0 lead in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. When it was over, they had not only lost the game but also the goalie that saved their season.
The news was as bad as could be. Starting goalie Dwayne Roloson is lost for the series, suffering an injury that coach Craig MacTavish described "as bad as Radek (Dvorak)." Dvorak was injured May 8 and missed eight games.
After struggling through the season with goalies Ty Conklin, Jussi Markkanen and Mike Morrison, the Oilers acquired Roloson from the Minnesota Wild on March 8, the day before the NHL trading deadline, in exchange for a first- and third-round draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Roloson helped the Oilers secure a Stanley Cup Playoff berth and then led all postseason goalies with 12 victories. His .931 save percentage was second-best in the Playoffs and his 2.22 goals-against average was third-best.
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Schedule / Links:
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| 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 |
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Roloson was injured at 14:06 of the third period, with the score tied, 4-4, when Oilers defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron crushed puck-carrying Hurricanes forward Andrew Ladd into Roloson and the right goal post. MacTavish said Ladd had beaten Bergeron on the left-wing rush but he couldn't fault him for the hit that cost his team its goalie.
"It looked like Ladd stumbled coming to the net," MacTavish said. "He was a little off-balance and Bergie is thinking it's going to be a desperation play at the net and tried to take his man. Obviously, in hindsight, it's something he would not do but you're certainly not going to criticize a guy. If (Ladd) walks right through the face of the net and puts it in the back of the net. I would criticize him, but not tonight, with the circumstances.
"It was an unfortunate set of circumstances to have happen in the game tonight, obviously,with "Rolly" playing as well as he has been," MacTavish said. "The important thing for us as a team is to bounce back
and I know we can. I feel very confident that we can bounce back from it. I've been in this situation before.
Despite the inconsistent performances of Conklin and Markkanen this season, MacTavish believes they can get the job done and help the Oilers win their sixth Stanley Cup and first since 1990.
"Our goatenders are capable of coming in here and playing well, both Jussi and Ty," MacTavish said. "I felt that we played a solid game tonight and we can recover from this. I just passed on to Rolly that, job well done, and it's up to us to take it from here and we're capable of doing that."
MacTavish was asked who will be in net Wednesday in Raleigh when the Hurricanes and Oilers meet for Game 2.
"They have been close all year long," he said. "We'll make that decision tomorrow in concert with the other coaches and talk to the goaltenders and get a sense. We could see platooning of the goaltenders, depending on the performance, obviously."
Conklin made three saves before mishandling the puck that led to Rod Brind'Amour's game-winning goal, his second of the game, at 19:28 of the third period. Conklin went behind his net to handle a dumped-in puck. He had defenseman Jason Smith behind him and tried to pass the puck to his defenseman. Instead, it went off Smith's stick toward the front of the right side of the Oilers' net. Brind'Amour beat Smith to the puck and had an easy tap-in for the winner.
"Ty comes in, he makes a great pad save and then he gloves one and he's got his confidence," MacTavish said. "Then, he goes back to play the puck and a little bit too much confidence in a situation where obviously you just want to get rid of it at that point around the boards. He was confident, didn't see Brind'Amour coming in the back and Brind'Amour got another one."
MacTavish was asked if the loss of Roloson will rattle the Oilers.
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The Oilers played well enough to win, but couldn't seal the deal.
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I don't wonder at all," MacTavish said. "We've got a resilient group in there, a confident group, a very tight-knit group. We'll rally around either Jussi or Ty, whoever we start in the next game and we'll play a more intelligent game. I have no question whatsoever how we're going to react to this."
Chris Pronger was similarly defiant in the face of possible disaster.
"We got sloppy in our own end and hurt ourselves with sloppy defensive play in all three zones," Pronger said. "We can't give them the ability to play end-to-end action because they've got the firepower to do it.
Smith, the Oilers' captain and partial goat, wasn't pleased with the team play that led to the outcome but also tried to assure the team's faithful that there's plenty of fight left in the Oilers.
"We did a lot of good things in the game," Smith said. "We had some breakdowns and maybe had some errors and gave them some energy and life. Obviously, they capitalized on their opportunities. They have a lot of offensively gifted players. We need to do better defensively in the next game."
