Posted on 06/02/2006 9:20:09 AM PDT by Hat-Trick
Category 5 thriller on tap
Hurricanes earn Cup berth against Oilers in homecoming of sorts
John MacKinnon, The Edmonton Journal Published: Friday, June 02, 2006
The Edmonton Oilers have a Stanley Cup final date, at last, beginning Monday night in NASCAR country.
And the speedy, skilled Carolina Hurricanes will be facing the Oilers in the final thanks hugely to Mike Commodore and Ray Whitney of Fort Saskatchewan and ex-Oilers captain Doug Weight, making amends for a costly penalty in Game 6 by scoring a key goal in Game 7, a dramatic, see-saw victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
Not to mention goalie Cam Ward of Sherwood Park, an emergent star in goal for Carolina as a 22-year-old rookie, who made 22 Game 7 saves.
It was Commodore, he of the signature flaming-red Afro, who got things started Thursday night, sending his signature average slapshot pinballing off two Sabres and past goaltender Ryan Miller at 12:05 of the first period.
"I was just thinking, 'Get it by the first guy,' and I barely did that," said Commodore, whose shot clinked off the skate of Taylor Pyatt, who came out to block the shot, then clanked off the skate blade of Adam Mair, redirecting a shot headed wide past a helpless Miller.
"I tried to get it up in the air, too, and it didn't even come off the ice.
"It hit a skate and hit another skate and went in. I'll take 'em however I can get 'em."
The Hurricanes took this game and kept it, in the end, but it was no breeze, even with the Sabres lineup shredded, its top four defenceman out with injuries, along with centre Tim Connolly. The Hurricanes, of course, were without power forward Erik Cole, gone for the playoffs with a neck injury.
The most recent Sabres casualty was defenceman Jay McKee, who woke up early Wednesday morning with a painful, swollen, infected leg. He didn't make the trip to Raleigh, joining Henrik Tallinder (broken arm), Dmitri Kalinin (broken ankle) and Teppo Numinen (groin) on the sidelines.
Still, in the end, the Sabres gave the Hurricanes all they could handle, erasing the 1-0 lead Commodore had provided, building a 2-1 advantage and going end-to-end with the Hurricanes in a wild third period.
But it took awhile for the rest of the Sabres to find their legs. Pyatt produced Buffalo's first second-period shot in the 12th minute and it was a good one, forcing Ward to make a splendid leg pad save. But the Sabres seemed to be out of gas until a seeing-eye slapshot by replacement defenceman Doug Janik eluded Ward about four minutes later, tying the game.
When ex-Oiler Jochen Hecht, shooting from behind the goal line, banked one in off Ward's skate to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 19:55 of the second period, it was almost enough to cause an observer to think there was a hockey god, after all, and she lives in the grim, urban wasteland of Buffalo, N.Y.
The Sabres didn't sag after Weight tied the game 2-2, burying a passout from Whitney at 1:34 of the third period. But the Hurricanes certainly claimed the momentum.
"It was a rough night after Game 6," said Weight, who was sitting out a boarding penalty when the winning goal was scored. "I was in the box when they scored.
"It was a terrible feeling. "I tell you what, these guys in this room are just great hockey players, wonderful people, great organization. "They were awesome to me, and said, 'Don't even blink an eye about it.' "
Rod Brind'Amour, the Hurricanes captain and one of seven team holdovers from the 2002 Carolina club that lost 4-1 to the Detroit Red Wings in the Cup final series that year, scored the Eastern Conference final-clinching goal at 11:22 of the third period, with Sabres defenceman Brian Campbell in the box serving a delay of game penalty. Justin Williams added insurance on a setup from Brind 'Amour with 52 seconds left.
As the party began, to the strains of Bachman-Turner Overdrive's You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet at the Royal Bank Center (yes, that Royal Bank), a fan held up a sign that read 'Redneck Hockey.' Appropriate that, since the big-market hockey observers dismiss the first Cup final in the New NHL as an artistic triumph but a TV ratings and marketing disaster.
After all, it pairs small-market Edmonton with Raleigh, where their fans, the Caniacs, are wonderfully passionate, just not that numerous outside the 18,730 that filled the RBC Center on Thursday night.
Never mind. The final will be a once-in-a-lifetime homecoming to hockey-mad Edmonton for the likes of Commodore, Whitney, Ward and Weight, who finally felt free to talk about that scenario with the conference final out of the way.
"It's crazy there," Weight said, obviously up-to-date with the Whyte Avenue shenanigans. "It rivals this building, definitely, and they feed off it emotionally.
"They deserve to be where they are at, they beat some great teams. "They play a lot like us -- they skate, hit and finish.
"When you are the last two teams standing, the words heart and character (runs) throughout the rooms, both rooms."
No doubt.
Like BTO sang, 'You Ain't Seen Nothin' yet.'
Check out my blog at: www.edmontonjournal.com
jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com
If Ty Conklin keeps gift-wrapping them for Rod Brind’Amour, the only cup you will see in Canada is the one they keep at the Hall of Fame.
P.S. After those SOB hurricanes beat my Sabres, I'm pulling for Edmonton. Could be tough without Rollie...
I hear ya. This has been a great and exciting series. Even though I'm pulling for Carolina, I won't be disappointed if the Oilers win. Those saying, "This Stanley Cup Final doesn't matter," or that it isn't worth watching is missing out.
I was actually excited watching last nights game. I haven't had this good a feeling about hockey since the Rangers won in 93-94.
Plus, my kid is really enjoying it which is pretty cool. He plays travel hockey and all he wants to see is the captain liftin the cup over his head. I asked him which captain and he gave me the answer, "any captain."
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