Oilers force seventh game
EDMONTON, Alberta – Hometown boy Fernando Pisani scored another goal and tough guy Raffi Torres deflected in one of his own, sparking the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-0 rout Saturday night that wasn’t that close.
As a result, Edmonton’s magical postseason run is heading all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, pushed along by a new group of playoff stars who are proving to be worthy successors to Gretzky, Messier & Co.
Edmonton evened the best-of-7 series at three games apiece and moved to the brink of a historic comeback. Only three teams have rallied from a 2-0 deficit to claim the cup. Only one, Toronto in 1942, has overcome a 3-1 hole to win it all.
“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.
Not even the return of Erik Cole, playing for the first time since be broke a vertebra in his neck 3 1/2 months ago, did much to inspire a team whose 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 veteran 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 spent the final minutes reveling in the adulation of a deafening, pompom-waving crowd that senses a return to the glory days.
As the horn sounded, someone tossed a piece of Alberta red meat onto the ice – a new playoff tradition in Edmonton that was borrowed from octopus-tossing fans of Detroit. The scoreboard flashed an endearing message as the fans filed out of the season’s final game in Edmonton.
“Bring It Home.”
Next stop, Tobacco Road. Game 7 is Monday night in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes were ready to celebrate there on 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 Alberta for Carolina’s second crack at the title.
The Hurricanes whiffed 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, 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, making it sound so simple.
Carolina still didn’t have a shot in the period when Torres gave Edmonton a two-goal cushion.
Now, the series is all tied up.