The Oilers' Jussi Markkanen, pressed into the starting role when Dwayne Roloson went down in Game 1, has been just as cool, calm and collected after games as his counterpart, Cam Ward.

Remember the 'Jussi factor'
Compiled by Phil Coffey
NHL.com | June 16, 2006

Certainly one of the huge factors in this Stanley Cup Final has been the play of Jussi Markkanen for the Oilers.

Remember back to the word that Dwayne Roloson was out for the series after suffering a knee injury in Game 1 and the feeling was the Oilers were cooked since neither Ty Conklin nor Markkanen had played in quite a while. Now add in a 5-0 loss in Markkanen's debut in Game 2 and it looked all the more dismal. But one fact leaked through the score of Game 2, namely that Markkanen had deserved a far better fate than to surrender five goals.

After a win or a loss, Markkanen has the same calm demeanor. His personality is as consistent as anything we have seen in the Final, and that was a factor in his being named the starter in place of Roloson.

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"I have said that before and he was calm, cool, collected," coach Craig MacTavish said. "He was ready for it. Welcomed it, where a lot ... I think, you know, it could have gone the other way where he was a little intimidated by it, but that's not his nature. He doesn't get too rattled about too much. He came in. He had the right mentality and played well."

And as the series has progressed, MacTavish said he has seen Markkanen grow into the role.

"I see more aggressiveness in his game, and I hesitate to even discuss it right now because ... from a superstitious standpoint. But other than to say we're liking what we're seeing a lot out of him. He looks to be more aggressive and I think that's a product of confidence and I just think it's an overall mentality that he just grabbed the situation when it came to him and he was going to say, 'hey, whatever happens, happens, I am going to go play the game. I am not going to play timid. I am not going to play tentative. I am going to go in there I am going to play confident'. That's what he's done from the moment he stepped foot in the net."

But ask Markkanen, and he says things have been pretty much the same for him all the way through.

"It's pretty much the same anyway, like you have to prepare for one game," he said, "especially now when our season is still on the line on Saturday, so it's going to be another big game for us and you just try to make the most of it and try to relax."

MacTavish said the decision to go with Markkanen over Conklin was a close one and came down to Markkanen being sharper in practice.

"Again in concert with talking to (goalie coach) Pete Peters and we watched the goalies a fair bit in practice try to get a sense of where they are in case we do need one of them and, obviously, we did," MacTavish said. "But it just looked like Jussi was sharper in practice."

"He's made some key saves," Carolina's Eric Staal said. "I think we have had some chances here and there where he's made some big saves for them, but I think we need to do a better job of getting at the net and attacking them and, you know, maybe some more traffic and hopefully getting to them a little bit better next game.

"He comes out of the net a lot," Staal continued. "He likes to get out there and sometimes. You want to pressure him when he gets out of the net, and hopefully he turns one over or coughs one up and you capitalize. But he does get out of the net very well, and we need to pressure him."

"Jussi has been great the last -- you know, actually he's played well the whole time and certainly given them an opportunity to win in every game," Carolina's Ray Whitney said.

"He's made some big saves for them," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette agreed. "I think he's played well. He made some good saves last night. I thought he made some great saves in Game 4. I thought he was real sharp in Game 4."

Some rest for the weary -- Following Game 2, the Oilers were collectively happy to have an extra day off before Game 3 in Edmonton to rest and recuperate. Now, the Hurricanes are also happy that an extra day was built into the schedule before Game 6.

Carolina coach Peter Laviolette feels the extra off day between Games 5 and 6 will serve his Hurricanes well in their quest to win the Stanley Cup.

"I think the two days off can be useful just to get away from that last game and separate yourself from that game and move forward and get ready for Game 6," 'Canes coach Peter Laviolette said. "The time is good to identify the fact that it was just one game, and we move on and now. It's Game 6 in their building, and it should be another great game.

"With the exception of the 5-0 game, they have been pretty exciting games, one-goal games. I don't think we were planning on sweeping 4-0. It would have been nice, but we knew that we had had a good team, and we were going to be in for a long series."

And the extra day gives the growing number of players with bumps and bruises another 24 hours to get treatment and heal.

"Everybody gets the extra days, their team as well, so I am not sure if the guys would rather play or take the extra day," Laviolette said. "So, I guess, it's just preference, but there's no question as far as healing goes. The extra day is going to help."

The beauty of charter aircraft -- Neither the Hurricanes, nor the Oilers are flying commercial during the Final. Both have chartered jets that allow them to leave whenever they want. Plus it eliminates connecting flights, so getting from Raleigh to Edmonton takes roughly four and a half hours.

"It certainly, I think, helps our confidence a lot more than it would them to be able to leave games and not have to take the three or four flights," Hurricanes winger Cory Stillman said. "Sometimes L.A. to Edmonton or Dallas to Edmonton, whatever the case may be.

"Having played in the East my first couple of years the travel was pretty easy. Usually you are in bed by midnight, or at the latest 1 a.m. That's not the case out in the West now."

Praise for Pisani -- Fernando Pisani has been a vital part of the Oilers' playoff attack since the beginning, but due to his quiet nature he has flown under the radar screen until his huge shorthanded breakaway won Game 5 in overtime.

"I can't really remember anything," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said when asked if he recalled another clutch player in the playoffs. "I said it before Stephane Matteau, he didn't score as prolifically, but he scored timely goals back in '94, so that might be ... 'Fernie' is a better player than Stephane. No offense to Stephane. He had a brilliant playoff at that time. But Fernie is, you know, he's played through some injury through this series, and I think he's back feeling a little better. Obviously, it's shown in his play the last couple games. He's been very good, but he's a very complete player and doesn't need too many chances to get it in the back of the net. Scored some huge goals for us obviously in this run, much like Stephane Matteau. He can get them a variety of different ways. He's not really pigeonholed one way, good one-shot scorer. He can deke. He goes to the net well. He can beat you outside.

"And I mean, everybody who knows Fernando knows the type of work ethic he puts into his game and the professionalism he brings to his game. So we're all very happy for him, and for us, because we're all the benefactors of it."

Material from personal interviews, wire services, newspaper, and league and team sources was used in this report.

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