Raleigh, N.C. – Not that it was a well-played work of art, but this 1 – Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals – is going to be difficult to top.
In a bizarre confirmation that in the new NHL, leads that used to be insurmountable no longer are safe, the Carolina Hurricanes overcame a three-goal deficit Monday night and ultimately beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in the Finals opener at the RBC Center.
Hurricanes captain Rod Brind’Amour scored his second goal of the game with 31.1 seconds remaining to break a 4-4 tie and prevent overtime.
It was a gift, thanks to a miscommunication between Oilers goalie Ty Conk- lin and defenseman Jason Smith. Behind the net, Conklin blindly tried to backhand the puck and send it along the boards to the corner. He hadn’t noticed Smith coming up behind him, and it trickled off the defenseman’s stick to Brind’Amour, also behind the net.
A stride or two later, Brind’Amour slid the puck into the open net.
“It wasn’t much that I did,” Brind’Amour said, adding that “it was just a matter of flipping it into the net.”
Conklin, a 30-year-old Alaskan who had to come on with 3:54 remaining to replace the injured Dwayne Roloson, said: “I think I just held onto it too long. I didn’t make the play quickly. … It’s not a mistake that I think I would normally make.”
Neither team came out of the opener particularly happy. The Hurricanes hadn’t played well in falling behind 3-0 – the second goal, scored by Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger, was the first scored on a penalty shot in Stanley Cup Finals history – and felt as if they got away with a horrible game.
Ray Whitney, a 34-year-old winger who once served as an Oilers stickboy and whose father, Floyd, was Edmonton’s longtime practice goalie, also had two goals for the Hurricanes.
“We’re not kidding ourselves,” Brind’- Amour said. “We’re not real pleased with the way we played tonight.”
And the Oilers, the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed trying to pull off another upset? They not only blew a lead, they lost the goalie who was so instrumental in getting them this far. Roloson, who solidified the Oilers’ shaky goaltending situation after being acquired from Minnesota in March, suffered a right knee injury when Edmonton defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron rode Hurricanes winger Andrew Ladd into the crease – and into Roloson.
A somber Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said Roloson “won’t be back in the series.”
So now the Oilers, who spent much of the season making it clear they were dissatisfied with Conklin and Jussi Markkanen, will have to hope that one of them turns into a reasonable facsimile of a big-time playoff goalie. MacTavish said he didn’t know who would start Wednesday in Game 2.
MacTavish acknowledged that giving up the flukish goal could affect Conklin. “But I know Ty is a tough, tough guy mentally. … He’s never once wavered in his confidence to be an NHL goalie, and I don’t anticipate that he’ll do that now.”
Carolina became the sixth team in Finals history to come back from a 3-0 deficit, and the first since the Mario Lemieux- led Pittsburgh Penguins did it to beat Chicago in the 1992 Finals.
Lost amid the wild finish was Pronger’s successful penalty shot on Cam Ward, who played well for the Hurricanes despite giving up four goals – and who made a terrific sprawling glove save on Shawn Horcoff in the game’s final seconds. Referee Mick McGeough ruled that Carolina’s Niclas Wallin closed his hand on the puck in the crease, awarding the penalty shot.
MacTavish had to pick one of the Oilers on the ice to take the penalty shot, and he took Pronger, who beat Ward with a terrific shot just inside the post.
Edmonton 1 2 1 – 4
Carolina 0 1 4 – 5
First period – 1, Edmonton, Pisani 10 (Torres, Spacek), 8:18. Penalties – Commodore, Car (roughing), 2:12; Staios, Edm (tripping), 11:45; Bergeron, Edm (interference), 14:12; Hedican, Car (tripping), 14:46; Wallin, Car (tripping), 14:55; Brind’Amour, Car (hooking), 16:33.
Second period – 2, Edmonton, Pronger 5 (penalty shot), 10:36. 3, Edmonton, Moreau 2 (Greene), 16:23. 4, Carolina, Brind’Amour 10 (Williams, Stillman), 17:17. Penalties – Peca, Edm (elbowing), 5:59; Dvorak, Edm (hooking), 18:33.
Third period – 5, Carolina, Whitney 7 (Weight, Ladd), 1:40. 6, Carolina, Whitney 8 (Recchi, Staal), 5:09 (pp). 7, Carolina, Williams 6 (LaRose, A.Ward), 10:02 (sh). 8, Edmonton, Hemsky 5 (Stoll, Pronger), 13:31 (pp). 9, Carolina, Brind’Amour 11, 19:28. Penalties – Kaberle, Car (hooking), 2:11; Moreau, Edm (cross-checking), 4:28; Hedican, Car (hooking), 8:11; Staal, Car (high-sticking), 12:53.
Shots on goal – Edmonton 8-12-18 – 38. Carolina 8-7-11 – 26. Power-play opportunities – Ed- monton 1 of 7; Carolina 1 of 5.
Goalies – Edmonton, Roloson (23 shots-19 saves), Conklin 0-1-0 (14:06 third, 3-2). Carolina, Ward 12-5-0 (38-34).
Attendance – 18,797 (18,730). T – 2:39.
Referees – Paul Devorski, Mick McGeough.
Linesmen – Jean Morin, Pierre Racicot.
Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
