Raleigh, N.C. – If the Edmonton Oilers had coaxed Patrick Roy out of retirement, managed to restore him to his prime with a magic potion and then put him in their net Wednesday, it probably wouldn’t have made any difference in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Amid all the fuss about Jussi Markkanen manning the Edmonton net in the wake of the opening-game injury to Dwayne Roloson, this might have been overlooked: If the Oilers played terrible and with little discipline and intelligence, they would be in deep trouble against the Carolina Hurricanes – no matter who played goal.
The Oilers disintegrated and the Hurricanes dominated, getting a 25-save shutout from rookie goalie Cam Ward on the way to a 5-0 victory that gave the Hurricanes a sweep of the first two games at home. That’s a stranglehold, given that in the previous 29 Finals in which the home team has won the first two games, only once did the team down 0-2 come back to win the series. Montreal rebounded to beat Chicago in 1971.
Ward, an Edmonton native frustrating his hometown team, said the Hurricanes “played great in front of me. There were a lot of instances where we came up with key blocks that probably would have been sure goals.”
After the Hurricanes’ romp, Ward’s teammates were saying all the right things about having a long way to go – and not just geographically, with the series shifting to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4.
“We were supposed to win the first two games,” Carolina captain Rod Brind’Amour said. “We’re excited about doing that. But now the challenge is to go up there and win Game 3.”
Said star center Eric Staal: “We were down two games to none against Montreal (in the first round) and came back to win. We know it can be done. So we have to tell ourselves to keep a foot on the gas and not take a breath at all.”
In Game 2, Markkanen, who hadn’t played since March 1 but was pressed into service because Roloson suffered a strained knee ligament in the final minutes of Game 1, gave up the five goals on 26 shots. The goal that seemed to clinch it was Cory Stillman’s with two-plus seconds left in the second period. He flipped the puck over the net, retrieved it himself and backhanded it in with Markkanen prone on the ice and defenseman Steve Staios in the crease and trying to play goalie as well. That made it 3-0.
“Was it the backbreaker?” Stillman asked. “Maybe it was. It’s hard to swallow with two seconds left.”
The Oilers sabotaged their chances to get back in it by taking some ill-advised penalties, including four minors in the second period alone, and then resorting to the “send a message” approach in the third that, among other things, led to Georges Laraque getting a boarding major and a game misconduct. The Hurricanes, deadly on the power play throughout the playoffs, ended up going 3-for-10 with the manpower advantage.
Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said perhaps the only goal on which Markkanen could be faulted was the second, when Frantisek Kaberle’s shot got between his legs.
“I really thought that Jussi played a fine game for us tonight,” MacTavish said. “You don’t win a lot of games, even if you get outstanding goaltending, if you don’t score any goals.”
He said the Oilers “made it easy” on Ward. “Don’t get me wrong, he played a very good game. … But we had to get the puck up,” MacTavish said.
Carolina took the early lead when Andrew Ladd’s shot went in off defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron’s foot at 6:21 of the first period.
Markkanen said he “felt fine,” and added: “It’s a funny thing when you feel that you see the puck well and kind of play good, but in the end you still give up five goals and you lose a game. So there’s some place for improvement, definitely. But at the same time, I felt good, and I will build on that.”
Edmonton 0 0 0 – 0
Carolina 1 2 2 – 5
First period – 1, Carolina, Ladd 2 (Staal, Kaberle), 6:21. Penalties – C. Adams, Car (interference), 3:26; Pronger, Edm (hooking), 11:13; Stillman, Car (goalie interference), 12:47; Whitney, Car (hooking), 18:46.
Second period – 2, Carolina, Kaberle 3 (Whitney, Cullen), 10:28 (pp). 3, Carolina, Stillman 8 (Wallin, Williams), 19:57. Penalties – Greene, Edm (cross-checking), 5:34; Smith, Edm (roughing), 6:20; Torres, Edm (interference), 8:52; AWard, Car (holding), 11:23; Horcoff, Edm (interference), 14:20.
Third period – 4, Carolina, Weight 3 (Recchi, Cullen), 2:21 (pp). 5, Carolina, Recchi 6 (Kaberle, Cullen), 4:12 (pp). Penalties – Samsonov, Edm (goalie interference), 1:31; Moreau, Edm (roughing), 2:47; Smyth, Edm (high-sticking), 5:01; C.Adams, Car (cross-checking), 8:33; Laraque, Edm (tripping), 11:14; Wesley, Car (holding), 14:12; Laraque, Edm, major-game misconduct (boarding), 16:44; Wesley, Car (holding), 19:19.
Shots on goal – Edmonton 6-10-9 – 25. Carolina 8-10-8 – 26.
Power-play opportunities – Edmonton 0 of 6; Carolina 3 of 10.
Goalies – Edmonton, Markkanen 0-1 (26 shots-21 saves). Carolina, Ward 13-5 (25 shots-25 saves).
Attendance – 18,928 (18,730). T – 2:23.
Referees – Bill McCreary, Brad Watson. Linesmen – Greg Devorski, Jay Sharrers.
Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
