|
Stanley
Cup - June 19, 2006
Carolina
and Edmonton play Game 7 on the Stanley
Cup finals tonight with history on
the side of the Hurricanes.
Edmonton
(+150) at Carolina
Of the 13
Game Sevens in Stanley Cup history,
the home team has an 11-2 record.
Edmonton is also trying to become
the first team since the 1942 Maple
Leafs to overcome a 3-1 deficit in
the finals.
Whatever
the final outcome of this series is,
you have to give credit to the Oilers.
They could have folded their tents
after a 2-1 loss in Game 4. That put
them one game away from elimination,
and they were already playing without
their injured goaltender, Dwayne Roloson.
Instead,
they won Game 5 in Carolina, 4-3 in
overtime. They also won Game 6 in
Edmonton, 4-0. 31 year-old goaltender,
Jussi Markkanen has stepped in nicely
for Roloson and saved his best work
for Game 6 when he stopped all 16
Carolina shots. The most incredible
thing about Markkanen is that he had
not played since March 1 before getting
the call in the finals.
For Carolina,
goaltender Cam Ward hasn’t been
bad, it’s just that Edmonton
has played hungry and desperate the
last two games, while Carolina has
been far too tentative. The good news
is that Carolina has lost two games
in a row and can still win the Stanley
Cup in a home game.
Stanley
Cup Notes:
The Hurricanes
(formerly the Hartford Whalers) are
trying to win the franchise’s
first Stanley Cup. Edmonton is going
for their 6th Stanley Cup championship,
the last coming in 1990.
This is
the third straight Stanley Cup Finals
in a row that has gone seven games.
That is amazing considering that is
has been rare throughout history.
In 2004, Tampa Bay beat Calgary 2-1
to win the title. In 2003, New Jersey
defeated the Mighty Ducks 3-0 for
the championship.
Last
year, there was no Stanley Cup due
to the strike, but this playoff season
has more than made up for that. Expect
another classic game tonight.
Prediction:
Edmonton
Posted
by miker at June 19, 2006 08:44 AM
|
