Game 7 Sets Up as Dream Come True

Oilers right wing Fernando Pisani has played this game before, not on international television or before a roaring crowd, but on the roads of Edmonton’s Little Italy district.

“As a kid, every street hockey game that you play is always Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals,” he said.

And each time, he scored the winner.

“Hopefully that part will stay true,” said Pisani, the top playoff goal scorer and a key reason the Oilers have twice dodged elimination and will face the Carolina Hurricanes for the Cup tonight at the RBC Center.

Carolina goaltender Cam Ward played those same street hockey games and dreamed the same dreams. He has been close: The Hurricanes could have claimed the Cup in Game 5 but lost in overtime and were lifeless in a 4-0 loss at Edmonton on Saturday in Game 6. If the Hurricanes lose again tonight, there’s no telling when -- or if -- his name will be engraved on the sport’s iconic trophy.

If he needs a reminder, he can look at teammates Glen Wesley, Doug Weight, Rod Brind’Amour and Bret Hedican, who are nearing the end of fine careers but have never won the Cup.

“We’re going to do the best that we can to just leave it all on the ice, and it will be what it will be,” Ward said Sunday. “We weren’t happy with Game 6, but the guys have stepped up through the entire playoffs, and it’s going to be very important to play a very strong defensive game ...

“We have an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup. It comes down to one game. I don’t think anybody is going to use the fatigue as an excuse.”

In positioning themselves to join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only teams to rally from a 3-1 series deficit in the finals and win the Cup, the Oilers have won the games within the games.

They’ve transformed their power play from a one-for-25 liability in the first four games to a four-for-25 asset in the last two games, blocked enough shots to help goaltender Jussi Markkanen compile a 1.48 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in Games 3 through 6, and they’ve made the Hurricanes wince by increasing the intensity and frequency of their hitting.

“Sometimes you get a little bit more room out there by doing those types of things. I’m not sure if they’re too comfortable taking those hits,” Oilers center Jarret Stoll said. “Anything we can do to take away their time and space and make things uncomfortable for their skill, the better off we’ll be.”

For the Hurricanes, who were supported by their home fans when they defeated Buffalo in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, there are reasons to believe they can avoid a historic collapse. Of the 13 Cup finals that have lasted seven games, the home team has won 11; the exceptions occurred when the 1945 Maple Leafs won at Detroit and the 1971 Montreal Canadiens won at Chicago.

“The bottom line is we need to play better and harder,” said Erik Cole, a late and surprising addition to the Game 6 lineup when Weight was ruled out because of a shoulder injury.

Cole, who suffered a fractured neck vertebra in March, was cleared to play a few hours before the game. Having withstood several hard hits, he’s expected to again take Weight’s place tonight.

“I think everyone feels how desperate you need to be and what the situation is,” Cole added. “This is what we’ve been playing for our whole lives. It’s down to one game, on our home ice. I think if you offered us that two weeks ago, we would have taken it.”

The Oilers believe they’ve been offered a chance to escape the formidable shadow of their predecessors, who won the Cup five times in seven seasons between 1984 and 1990.

A victory would be the ultimate payback for the financial problems the club endured after that championship era, years when the Oilers couldn’t afford to keep players they’d developed and came perilously close to being sold and moved to Houston.

“A lot of guys here have gone through a lot of lean years to get to the situation we’re in,” center Shawn Horcoff said. “It would be something great if it happened.”

Said Stoll: “We’re the ’06 Oilers, not back in the ‘80s. It was great to see the organization do so well and have success, but we want to make our own success and our own story. We’ve done that so far, and there’s no better way to end it off than with a win.”

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Big rallies

Teams that have overcome 3-1 deficits in Stanley Cup playoffs (Note: The New York Islanders in 1975 and Toronto in 1942 overcame 3-0 deficits).

*--* 2004 Montreal def. Boston* 2003 Minnesota def. Vancouver** 2003 Vancouver def. St. Louis* 2003 Minnesota def. Colorado* 2000 New Jersey def. Philadelphia*** 1999 St. Louis def. Phoenix* 1998 Edmonton def. Colorado* 1995 Pittsburgh def. Washington* 1994 Vancouver def. Calgary* 1992 Pittsburgh def. Washington** 1992 Vancouver def. Winnipeg** 1992 Detroit def. Minnesota** 1991 St. Louis def. Detroit** 1990 Edmonton def. Winnipeg** 1989 Kings def. Edmonton** 1988 Washington def. Philadelphia** 1987 Detroit def. Toronto* 1987 N.Y. Islanders def. Washington** 1975 N.Y. Islanders def. Pittsburgh** 1942 Toronto def. Detroit****

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* Conference/division quarterfinals

** Conference/division semifinals

*** Conference/division finals

****Stanley Cup finals

Source: Associated Press