big joe

How they got here

Carolina Season Record: 52-22-8 (112 points)
Against Oilers: Teams did not meet
Stanley Cup Rings: Mark Recchi, Cory Stillman, Oleg Tverdovsky, Aaron Ward (2)
2006 Playoff Record: 12-6
The Hurricanes fell behind 2-0 in their opening series against seventh-seeded Montreal, but replacing Martin Gerber with Cam Ward in goal swung the momentum in their favour as they rallied to win the next four games. Ward was strong again in the conference semis as the Hurricanes beat the formerly red-hot Devils in five games. Heading into the Conference Final, Carolina won eight of their past nine games in the playoffs and finished off a winning series at home for the first time in franchise history. The Buffalo Sabres proved to be their toughest task yet, as both teams took split the first four games. The big difference in this series was coach Peter Laviolette's choice to start Gerber once more in Game 4. The Swiss goalie rewarded his faith with a 22-save shutout to beat the Sabres 4-0. Gerber started Game 5, but Ward came in relief when Laviolette pulled Gerber after Buffalo built a 3-1 lead in the second period. Ward stopped all 15 shots he faced for a 4-3 overtime win. The Sabres forced a Game 7 with an overtime win in Buffalo, but captain Rod Brind'Amour took it from there. Brind'Amour shovelled a loose puck past Ryan Miller to break open a tie game as the Hurricanes beat the Sabres 4-2 and won the Eastern Conference Final in seven games.

Edmonton Season Record: 41-28-13 (95 points)
Against Hurricanes: Teams did not meet
Stanley Cup Rings: None
2006 Playoff Record: 12-5
The Oilers have been Canada's feel-good story of the spring this year. The team was put to the test early against the heavily favoured Detroit Red Wings, who captured the President's Trophy with the NHL's best regular season record. But with netminder Dwayne Roloson in net, the Oilers came back with a come-from-behind win in Game 2 and a win in double overtime in Game 3. After a one-goal victory in Game 5, the Oilers took Game 6 4-3 in dramatic fashion with four goals in the third period after trailing 2-0 through 40 minutes. The Oilers were in tough early against the San Jose Sharks and Vesa Toskala, one of the hottest goalies going into Round 2. Down 2-0 in the series, the Oilers pulled off a huge 3-2 triple overtime win in Game 3 and won the next three games in convincing fashion to oust the Sharks and MVP candidate Joe Thornton. The Oilers were flu-ridden during their stay in in Anaheim, but Roloson was brilliant again in the Western Conference Final, holding off the Mighty Ducks with 3-1 victories in Games 1 and 2. Game 3 provided plenty of drama and excitement, as the Oilers almost blew a 3-0 third period lead. The Ducks staged a quick rally to pull within one, and Fernando Pisani's goal with five minutes left proved to be the game-winner in a nail-biting 5-4 victory. The Ducks avoided a sweep with a 6-3 victory in Game 4, but was not able to recover as the Oilers captured the Campbell Trophy after a 2-1 win in Anaheim. The Oilers clinched their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 1990.




Position Breakdown

Forwards - Where statistics are concerned, the 'top guns' in this lineup - Sergei Samsonov, Ryan Smyth, and Shawn Horcoff - have a combined 14 goals in the playoffs. Fernando Pisani leads the pack with nine goals, while Michael Peca and Jarret Stoll have five and four goals respectively. That's 17 goals from what was defined in this series as the checking line. When all is said and done anyone can score a goal in this lineup at any given time. The Oilers also excel in a solid forechecking game and getting the puck to the net as much as possible. Michael Peca will be looking to redeem his 1999 run at the Cup with Buffalo, and will be up as a predator against the top line. He'll also clear space in front of the crease and create chances up front with his crash and bang style. After a breakout regular season and hot playoff run, Horcoff has evolved into the Oilers' first-line centre and a team leader. He shares the Oilers playoff scoring lead and has also won the majority of faceoffs for the Oilers - impressive for a guy who had only 11 games of playoff experience prior to the season. By contract. the Hurricanes' offense is also spread out evenly and is rich in talent. Young Eric Staal hasn't missed a beat coming off his 100-point regular season and went on a franchise-record 15-game playoff point streak. At age 35, Rod Brind'Amour is an ageless warrior who has embraced the new NHL with great success. He's a big reason for Carolina's success at faceoffs, forechecking and penalty-killing situations. The size and skill in the two hulking forwards has become a very good compliment to the speed and puck-handling abilities from veteran forwards Mark Recchi and Doug Weight. Recchi is far from the big physical player the Hurricanes miss in Erik Cole, but brings a lot of energy and playmaking skills. Justin Williams has blinding speed and a nose for the net. The rest of the lineup consists for forwards who can turn up the offence at the most opportune times. This may be a more personally satisfying postseason campaign for forward Cory Stillman than when he won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stillman only had two goals and seven points in 21 games with the Lightning in 2004, and already has three game-winning goals - including the series clincher against Montreal - this year. Carolina's fourth line of Craig Adams, Kevyn Adams and Chad Larose hasn't put up any points in the postseason.

Defence - Chris Pronger has been everything the Oilers wanted when they traded for the superstar defenceman last summer. He has been an absolute workhorse during the playoffs and is averaging 31:35 of ice time per game. In Game 5 against Anaheim, 10 of those 31 minutes came with the team shorthanded. To top it all off, he's the leading scorer among defencemen in the playoffs, and is top five overall with 17 points. Pronger, with Jason Smith and Steve Staios make it tough for any offence to develop in the Edmonton zone, as the Ducks found out in three of their four losses to the Oilers when they only scored a goal in each game. The point production from the blueline takes a big dip after Pronger, but skaters like Marc-Andre Bergeron and Jaroslav Spacek make up for it with great puck movement and passing ability. Point scoring from the blueline isn't Carolina's best asset, but their six defenders excel at keeping opposing forwards away from the front of the net. The best example of this has been the trio of Mike Commodore, Niclas Wallin and Aaron Ward, who have used their size and physical presence well while keeping things simple in their own end. Veterans Glen Wesley and Bret Hedican are great puckhandlers and have provided solid leadership. Their game plan for the most part is to get the puck in their own end, dump it down the length of the ice and wear down the opposing team's skaters by making them go after it again and again. There is no shortage of Stanley Cup experience here - each of these blueliners have played with teams that went to the Final during their careers.

Goaltending - Goaltending wins championships, and the Oilers made a huge upgrade in net when they acquired Dwayne Roloson prior to the March trading deadline. He has embodied the success that the Oilers have enjoyed this spring and is playing the best hockey of his career. He faced 183 shots in five games against Anaheim and allowed only 12 goals. His stats through three rounds are just as impressive - a 2.22 goals-against average with a .931 save percentage and a 12-5 playoff record. They win with confidence when he's in net. If he's not the one in net (and he's started every game during the postseason) they simply won't win at all. Rookie Cam Ward emerged as Carolina's savior in net when Martin Gerber faltered in Games 1 and 2 against Montreal. He showed veteran-like form in eliminating the Canadiens and New Jersey Devils, but had to endure a series of goaltending changes in the Eastern Final as coach Peter Laviolette tried to shake things up. Down 2-1 in the series, Gerber returned to shut out the Sabres in Game 4. He fell behind in Game 5, but Ward came in to relieve him and the Hurricanes went on to win 4-3 in overtime. It appears that Laviolette is not adverse to changing things up in net, but Ward for the most part has been sensational. Where depth in goal is concerned, Carolina has the edge.




Statistical Keys to the Series


Chris Pronger has played 31:34 per game for Edmonton in the playoffs.
- Carolina ranked first in winning percentage when scoring first during the regular season -- 87.8%. Edmonton ranked fourth in the league in winning percentage when scoring first during the regular season -- 77.5%.

- Edmonton ranked 26th in the league in winning percentage when trailing first during the regular season -- 23.8%.

- Carolina ranked second in the league with 31 home wins during the regular season.

- Edmonton ranked first in the league with 25.5 shots against per game during the regular season. Edmonton ranks 15th in the playoffs with 35.1 shots against per game.

- Carolina ranked third in the league in number of power plays with 531 during the regular season.

- Carolina's power play leads the playoffs with a 25.9% success rate.

- Edmonton's penalty killing leads the playoffs with a 88.6% success rate.

- Edmonton ranked first in the league with only five shorthanded goals allowed during the regular season.

- Carolina ranked third in the league with 17 shorthanded goals during the regular season.

- Eric Staal is the leading scorer in the playoffs with 20 points. Cory Stillman is second with 19 points.

- Rod Brind'Amour and Fernando Pisani are tied for the playoff lead with nine goals. Brind'Amour also leads the playoffs with six power play goals.

- Eric Staal and Chris Pronger are tied for the playoffs lead with 13 assists.

- Staal leads the playoffs with 71 shots on goal.

- Chris Pronger, Jason Smith and Steve Staios are third, fourth and fifth in blocked shots during the playoffs with 52, 50 and 42, respectively.

- Jaroslav Spacek and Chris Pronger rank first and second in giveaways during the playoffs with 30 and 27, respectively.

- Eric Staal and Cory Stillman are tied for first in takeaways during the playoffs with 23.

- Craig Adams (151), Aaron Ward (133) and Mike Commodore (125) were the Hurricanes' leading hitters during the regular season.

- Mike Commodore (41), Mark Recchi (37) and Aaron Ward (34) are the Hurricanes' leading hitters during the playoffs.

- Jason Smith (151), Ethan Moreau (121) and Raffi Torres (110) were the Oilers' leading hitters during the regular season.

- Jason Smith (41), Ethan Moreau (32) and Raffi Torres (26) are the Oilers' leading hitters during the playoffs.

- Rod Brind'Amour was the Hurricanes' top face-off man during the regular season -- 59.1%. Kevyn Adams is the Hurricanes' top face-off man during the playoffs -- 60.2%.

- Jarret Stoll is the Oilers' top face-off man during the regular season -- 56.8%. Stoll is the Oilers' top face-off man during the playoffs -- 56.0%.

- Carolina's leaders in power play ice time (per game) during the playoffs:
Rod Brind'Amour 3:57
Eric Staal 3:57
Cory Stillman 3:45
Bret Hedican 3:37
Justin Williams 3:23
Doug Weight 3:16


- Edmonton's leaders in power play ice time (per game) during the playoffs:
Chris Pronger 5:53
Jaroslav Spacek 5:10
Ryan Smyth 4:59
Ales Hemsky 4:19
Sergei Samsonov 3:52
Jarret Stoll 3:09

- Carolina's leaders in penalty killing ice time (per game) during the playoffs:
Aaron Ward 4:41
Rod Brind'Amour 4:38
Glen Wesley 4:08
Justin Williams 3:58
Kevyn Adams 2:54
Mike Commodore 2:43

- Edmonton's leaders in penalty killing ice time (per game) during the playoffs:
Chris Pronger 6:32
Jason Smith 6:13
Michael Peca 4:21
Jaroslav Spacek 4:03
Steve Staios 3:53
Shawn Horcoff 3:35