Rookie sensation Cam Ward made 22 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Monday to win the first National Hockey League Stanley Cup in franchise history.
The Hurricanes, who nearly became the first team in 64 years to surrender a three-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven NHL championship series, captured the trophy in the decisive game seven.
The Stanley Cup win was the first for a host of Hurricanes veterans, including defenseman Glen Wesley, who entered Monday with 1,479 career regular-season and playoff games without a title -- the eighth-highest total in NHL history. Also winning their first Stanley Cups were captain Rod Brind'Amour, defenseman Bret Hedican, left wing Ray Whitney and center Doug Weight, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury.
"We have too many guys that have sacrificed for their whole careers [to win the Cup,]" Brind'Amour said. "And this was the time."
"It's unbelievable," Wesley added. "It's the best feeling. Guys were outstanding. The whole team played unbelievable tonight."
Defensemen Aaron Ward and Frantisek Kaberle scored for Carolina while Matt Cullen had two assists and Justin Williams scored an empty-netter with 61 seconds left.
The Oilers, seeking their sixth Stanley Cup title, were unable to complete the storybook ending to an incredible season.
But that was in no way due to the play of goaltender Jussi Markkanen, who played well once again in place of the injured Dwayne Roloson.
The first period was a reversal of game six, when the Hurricanes were dominated in every aspect.
Buoyed by their vocal fans, they hey were the more aggressive team from the opening faceoff and took a 1-0 lead just 1:26 into the game.
Mark Recchi carried behind the net and made a centering pass that caromed off the outside of the cage and back to the right point.
Aaron Ward came charging in and ripped a one-timer that got past Markkanen, who was screened by multiple players on the shot.
It was the second goal of the postseason for Aaron Ward, who won his third Stanley Cup title.
The veteran defenseman, who also was a member of the Detroit Red Wings' back-to-back championship teams in 1997-98, had not scored since the fourth game of the playoffs.
The Hurricanes nearly made it 2-0 on a bizarre play with just 4.1 seconds left in the first period.
Kevyn Adams flipped a backhander on net that hopped over Markkanen.
Oilers defenseman Steve Staios dove into the net and covered the puck with his glove, which led to the original ruling of a penalty shot.
However, after several minutes of discussing the matter and reviewing the replays, the referees determined the play was dead when Staios touched the puck on a delayed penalty, thus no goal or penalty shot.
Both goaltenders made great saves early in the second period, especially Markkanen.
The Finn made a dazzling right pad stop on Recchi on a 2-on-1 rush and, several minutes later, turned aside Ray Whitney on a one-timer from the slot.
Both of those key stops by Markkanen came on plays that were set up by Cullen, who simply had a phenomenal game.
The eight-year veteran may have been the best player on the ice, using his speed and skill to create a load of scoring chances for his teammates.
Just over four minutes into the second period, Edmonton's Jaroslav Spacek was whistled for holding and Carolina needed only eight seconds to make the Czech defenseman pay for his sin.
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