Print

Mail

wiki links

Oilers take the wind out of Hurricanes

Carolina Hurricanes' Eric Staal, left, crashes into the net with Edmonton Oilers' Steve Staios, right, as Oilers goalie Jussi Markkanen, top, watches the play during first period NHL Stanley Cup final action in Edmonton, Canada, Saturday. PHOTO: AP

The Edmonton Oilers beat up the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-0 rout which wasn't that close Saturday and forced a winner-takes-all Game 7 which seemed improbable just days ago in the Stanley Cup finals.

Edmonton's new playoff stars refuse to let go of this magical postseason run.

Hometown boy Fernando Pisani scored another goal and tough guy Raffi Torres deflected in one of his own, sparking the Oilers to the brink of an historic comeback.

It was total domination by a team which seems intent on becoming the second in NHL history to rally from a 3-1 deficit in the finals. The first was the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who were actually down 3-0.

"I think we got them right where we want them," Torres said, "but at the same time we can't get overexcited out there because they are that dangerous."

The Hurricanes, who were one timely goal away from celebrating a championship just a few days ago, didn't look very dangerous in this one and its lineup with large contingent of 30-somethings suddenly look very, very old.

"We need to get rid of this game," coach Peter Laviolette said. "We have a lot of veterans players in that locker room and a veteran defense. We just seemed to be off a step, maybe two."

Ryan Smyth and Shawn Horcoff added third-period goals for the Oilers, who evened the best-of-seven series at three games apiece before their deafening, pompom-waving fans who sense a return to the glory days.

"We want the cup! We want the cup!" they chanted in the final minutes of the season's final game in Edmonton.

Next stop, Raleigh, North Carolina. Game 7 is on Monday.

The Hurricanes were ready to celebrate there last Wednesday, returning home just one win away from their first Stanley Cup.

But Pisani scored the first short-handed overtime goal in finals history to win Game 5, forcing the NHL to pack up its prized hardware and ship it to Canada for Carolina's second crack at the title.

The Hurricanes missed again, getting outshot 34-16 and totally worked over by the younger Oilers, who barely made it into the playoffs and then became the first No. 8 seed under the current format to reach the championship round.

Pisani and Torres are doing their best to join Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and those stars who led the Oilers to five championships in seven years, a run which ended in 1990 and quickly fell apart as small-market Edmonton struggled to compete against wealthier US teams.

Pisani, who scored a modest 18 goals during the regular season, has 13 during the playoffs. After a scoreless first period, he put the Oilers ahead with a power-play goal just 1:45 into the second.

"It seems like I'm in the right spot and the right time in those situations and the puck just happens to go in," Pisani said.

Carolina still didn't have a shot in the period when Torres gave Edmonton a two-goal cushion.

The free-wheeling left winger has spent most of the series running around looking for someone in red to hit. He's delivered some crushing blows, including the one that knocked Hurricanes center Doug Weight out of Game 5 and probably out of the series with an injured shoulder.

Carolina pulled a surprise at the start, putting 30-goal scorer Cole in the lineup as Weight's replacement.

Cole had not played since early March, when he was driven headfirst into the boards and broke a vertebrae in his neck. He was supposed to be done for the season, but the Hurricanes decided he was healthy enough to give them a spark. It didn't work.

Edmonton wouldn't let up. Smyth -- who scored a disputed goal with just over 2 minutes left to win Game 3 and kept the Oilers from possibly going down 0-3 -- finished off the Hurricanes with 16:56 remaining. Jussi Markkanen, the third-string goalie from Finland, wasn't tested much in his first playoff shutout.
This story has been viewed 2076 times.