RALEIGH, N.C. -- So there is some life left in the Edmonton Oilers. And maybe even some momentum to go along with it.
"A little bit," said Edmonton center Shawn Horcoff after the Oilers won a scintillating 4-3 overtime decision against the Carolina Hurricanes to force a Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Finals. "They still have two cracks, but if we get a win at home and force a Game 7, anything can happen."
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| Pisani has the Oilers' first and last goals in Game 5. (AP) |
"It's tough, no question," said Hurricanes center Eric Staal, who scored two goals and was a force all night. "Bottom line is that we didn't win the game, that's what we went out to do." The Oilers obviously had other things in mind, getting off to a quick start on Fernando Pisani's goal just 16 seconds in. It was Pisani who also ended it when he picked off a pass early in the fourth period of play and beat rookie goalie Cam Ward.
"We just tried to leave it all on the ice and not come into the locker room saying coulda, shoulda, woulda," Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger said. "Now we get to go back home and you know what the crowd is going to be like back there for Game 6."
For that, the Oilers can thank the Edmonton-born Pisani.
"He's such a great breakaway player," Oilers center Michael Peca said. "If there's one guy we want going in on that one, it's him."
No kidding. A low-profile player who has spent much of his short NHL career in a checking role for the Oilers, Pisani has turned into a scoring star this spring. He is among the playoff leaders in points. He had three playoff game winners coming into the fifth game of the series, and added to his total in a short-handed situation that seemed tailor-made for Carolina to get what it needed to wrap things up.
"The power play had been so effective all night," said Carolina coach Peter Laviolette, whose team scored three times with the man advantage. "It was an opportunity to win and it didn't happen." For most of the game, it looked like the Hurricanes would claim hockey's top prize, with the power play again making the difference against an Oilers team that couldn't buy a goal in this series when they have had an extra skater on the ice.
Edmonton managed to get that monkey of its back early when Ales Hemsky scored on the Oilers' first power play of the game. But Carolina shut down Edmonton's special team after that, and seemed destined to win when Oilers defenseman Steve Staios was called for tripping three minutes into overtime. Problem was they weren't counting on Pisani. He intercepted a weak clearing pass that Cory Stillman intended for Staal at the Hurricanes' blue line, and walked in alone to beat Ward with a pinpoint shot to the top corner.
"The pass was coming slow, that's why I kind of jumped," Pisani said. "Staal's got a long reach too, so I kind of wasn't sure, then I decided to go for it.
"It worked out well."
Especially now that the Oilers get another chance to do what only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs have done, come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals. And it's a task the players believe is quite possible.
"I thought we really dictated the play five-on-five, but they got three power-play goals that kept them in the game," said Peca, whose scored with 17 seconds left in the first period to send his team into the dressing room up a goal.
"We've said all along that we hadn't felt like we were dominated for a full game in the series and that we haven't played our best game. Tonight, I think was pretty close to what we want."
