RALEIGH, N.C. -- For a hockey player, what could be better than getting a breakout pass at the red line and walking in alone for an empty-net goal that ices a Stanley Cup championship?
Maybe hoisting the Stanley Cup 20 minutes later and getting a big hug from your linemates, great NHL veterans Rod Brind'Amour and Cory Stillman?
When Justin Williams wakes up this afternoon, it won't take him long to realize that it wasn't a dream. It was real.
There was nothing easy about the Carolina Hurricanes' 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. The Hurricanes went up, 2-0, on goals by defensemen Aaron Ward and Frankie Kaberle and then held on, surrendering a Fernando Pisani goal a minute into the third period. The Oilers played the rest of the game with unbridled ferocity and Pisani nearly evened it but for a great left pad save by Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie Cam Ward.
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Oilers coach Craig MacTavish pulled his goalie, Jussi Markkanen, with 1:40 to play. The Oilers forced a faceoff in the Hurricanes' end, to the left of Ward. Carolina coach Peter Laviolette looked down his bench and sent five of his best defensive players out against the Oilers' six skaters: Defensemen Bret Hedican and Mike Commodore, centers Rod Brind'Amour and Eric Staal (two centers in case Brind'Amour got tossed from the faceoff), and right wing Williams.
Being put on the ice in the final minute of a Stanley Cup Final Game 7 to hold a one-goal lead is one of hockey's highest honors.
Williams, 24, is with his second NHL team because his first one questioned his defensive skills.
The teams fought for the puck along the wall until Hedican pushed it to Staal. Williams went wide across his blue line as he and Staal broke out with Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger between them. The widening distance between the two speedy Carolina forwards made for a difficult situation for Pronger, who moved toward Staal in the hope of forcing a bad pass.
No way. Staal put it on the tape and Williams avoided risk by carrying the puck in deep before shooting.
"My eyes couldn't have been any wider at that point," Williams said. "If you had a picture of me, I was probably bug-eyed. I didn't want to shoot the puck from the red line and miss so I made sure I got it all the way down there and sealed it. To see my teammates coming onto the ice toward me, I thought about how hard we've worked for this. To have our dream come true today was unbelievable."
Laviolette put Williams on a line with veterans Brind'Amour and Cory Stillman and it proved to be one of the NHL's best this season. They combined for 27 goals, 34 assists and 61 (that's Stillman's uniform number!) points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Williams had six goals and 11 assists. Brind'Amour had 12 goals and six assists and Stillman, who won his second-straight Stanley Cup after coming over from the Tampa Bay Lightning, had nine goals and 17 assists.
Williams had 31 goals and 45 assists for 76 points, far and away the best of his six NHL seasons. He was the Philadelphia Flyers' first pick, 28th overall, in the 2000 Entry Draft and his highest previous total was 40 points. He had injury problems in his final two seasons and was traded for a defenseman, Danny Markov, no longer with the Flyers.
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Williams had a career year with 76 points and proved to be vital during the Hurricanes' playoff run.
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Williams credited Laviolette for restoring his faith in his ability.
"He gave me confidence by showing a lot of confidence in me, as did the team," Williams said. "Coming to this team, they wanted me to succeed. It makes it a lot easier for a guy coming in when they had that confidence in me. I have to thank everybody."
Laviolette also put Williams in a position to succeed by combining him with a pair of savvy veterans. Brind'Amour was a teammate in Philadelphia, as was Hurricanes' teammate Mark Recchi.
"They create a lot of offense. They're so calm and so composed," Williams said. "It makes it so much easier to play with them because you know they're going to make a play every time. The emotional state we're in right now, the state Roddy must be in, winning the Cup for the first time, it makes everybody smile.
"It wasn't just for myself. It was definitely for the guys sitting to my right and to my left. I could see how badly those guys wanted it after we lost two-straight games in Games 5 and 6. You want to win it for yourself but after a long season, a couple of seasons, you want to win if for those guys too."
What's it like to be a Stanley Cup winner, Williams was asked.
"Just ecstasy. That's all it is. I couldn't be prouder of anyone than my teammates. We're Stanley Cup champions and no one can take that away from us. 'Whatever it takes,' was our motto and we stood by it all season," Williams said.
The Hurricanes built a strong family atmosphere under the direction of owner Peter Karmanos, GM Jim Rutherford and Laviolette. Wives, dads, moms, brothers and sisters, and little kids crowded into the champions' dressing room for the celebration. The players moved from their respective lockers to the center for the traditional champagne showers. Williams was lingering with his family when a pretty brunette pushed him toward his teammates.
"That's my boy," said smiling mom Denise Williams.
