Eric Fish breaks down the quest for Lord Stanley’s cup!

By Eric Fish

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           It appears that Lord Stanley’s cup will be getting a tan this offseason.

           With Carolina up two games to none in the series and Edmonton’s star goaltender Dwayne Roloson out for the remainder of the playoffs with a leg injury, one would be stupid to pick against the Hurricanes.

           Following Roloson’s injury, Ty Conklin took over between the pipes and mishandled the puck behind the net, in a play that should be seen on ESPN’s Not Top 10, to surrender the game-winning goal with less than a minute left in game one.

           In game two, Edmonton made Conklin ride the pine and started Jussi Markkanen, who would go on to allow five goals in a 5-0 blowout loss. But then again, the Oilers failed to strike on the power play each game so far. The power play is an area that the Oilers have had great success in this playoff run. Blame the goaltending in game two all you want, but when you don’t score any goals, you’ll never win a game.

           Carolina definitely has the upper hand right now. Rookie goaltender Cam Ward has been brilliant, the defense has been able to shut down Edmonton’s forwards, and they took care of business in their home rink.

           Now with game three Saturday night in Edmonton, the Oilers are faced with goaltending and goal-scoring issues. Don’t be surprised if Edmonton digs deep and wins either game three or game four, but don’t expect this series to last more than five games.

           Veterans Rod Brind’Amour, Dough Weight, Mark Recchi, and Ray Whitney will finally get a chance to hoist the trophy they’ve played their whole lives for. Give the Conn Smythe Tropy, awarded to the playoff MVP, to Brind’Amour. He’s been the backbone of his team all year long.

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