Actually, the Canes played pretty bad throughout the first and second periods. Edmonton seemed to be all over them. But, the Canes began their comeback at 17:17 of the second, and dominated the third.
The refs (Paul Devorski and Mike McGeough) were absolutely horrible. And I don't mean just for the Canes, but for Edmonton as well. I can remember a blatant tripping call by Craig Adams when he pulled his stick and just completely upended the Oilers guy. Of course, the worst call by McGeough was the Edmonton penalty shot. From my vantage point, the puck was never covered in the crease, and Niclas Wallin maintains that he never covered it. I believe Wallin, and it is horrible that Pronger scored, but in the end the Canes won, so I can't really complain, can I? (Yes I can!)
Brind'Amour and Whitney were absolutely awesome, scoring two goals apiece.
Cam Ward was absolutely awesome. I can't belive some of those saves he made last night. It was like he was having an out-of-body experience. Keep it up, Cam!
Eric Staal needs to play better. He has played like crap the last few games.
Chad Larose got a point on Justin William's goal! First of the series for Chad! Good for him!
Speaking of Justin Williams, here's yet another wrong fact by NHL.com. That's two since the beginning of the playoffs, by my count.
"And when Jason Williams converted a shorthanded breakaway at 10:02, the Hurricanes were in front by a goal, 4-3."
Jason Williams? Excuse me? His name is Justin! Check your facts a-holes.
Anyways, perhaps the biggest long-term event of Game 1 was the fact that Dwayne Roloson, the Edmonton goalie, is out for the rest of the season. Andrew Ladd was pushed into him, wrecking Roloson's knee. Roloson will apparantly be out for the rest of the series. This is not good for the Oilers, apparantly Roloson was the goalie that was carrying Edmonton. The other two goalies don't look too good, and haven't played in the playoffs. (Except for Ty Conklin, whose mishap with the puck led to the game-winner goal.)
I am torn between feeling bad that this happened, and feeling happy that this happened. I feel bad because I know if that injury happened to one of our goalies, I would feel like crap. On the other hand, I feel happy because this greatly increases the chances for the Canes. So, to compromise, I will feel indifferent, and hope that the Canes take advantage of this.
Game 2 tomorrow!
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