Canada’s hockey teams were able to do it again. No, not win the prized Stanley Cup, but instead lose it in seven games for the second season in a row.
The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in Game Seven on Monday at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. to become the 90th team to win the Stanley Cup. It was almost an identical story last season when the Calgary Flames lost the seventh game and a chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Carolina Defenseman, Frantisek Kaberle scored in the first period. Aaron Ward scored right after in the second to give Carolina a 2-0 lead going into the final period. Edmonton’s Fernando Pisani would later make Hurricanes’ fans nervous as he scored his playoff leading 14th goal just one minute from the start of the third, But Carolina forward Justin Williams finished off the Oilers, scoring an empty-net goal with 1:01 remaining in the game.
Give the Oilers more credit for the miracle that they pulled off this season. The Oilers were the eighth seed in the Western Conference and faced the Detroit Red Wings in the first round. The Red Wings held the best regular season record, losing 16 games all season. Their series against Edmonton was predicted to be a sweep, with Detroit moving on unscathed. But the Oilers would go on to shock hockey fans as they battled to win the series in six games. This would be the theme for the rest of the playoffs as the Oilers continued to surprise opponents with physical hitting and unbelievable scoring. Fernando Pisani led the NHL in playoff goals with 14 in 24 games, despite only scoring 18 goals in 80 regular season games.
In the end though, the Hurricanes would be the team skating off the ice with tears in their eyes and a Stanley Cup in their hands.
The Hurricanes had an opportunity to end the playoffs in six games, but lost Game Six 4-0. Edmonton sparked hope that a Canadian hockey team would win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 13 years, when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings.
The winner of Monday’s game not only decided the winner of the Stanley Cup, but the Conn Smythe Trophy, for most valuable player in the playoffs. As the Hurricanes counted down the seconds to victory, Pisani, and his chances of winning the trophy faded.
After the game, backup goalie Cam Ward was announced the winner. Ward lead all goalies in wins with 15 (he only won 14 games in the regular season) and held the Hurricanes together by making save after save after replacing starting goalie Martin Gerber in the first round.