2006 FLASHBACK: ROUND FOUR

For any sports fans, certain events are strong enough as they happen to have the sustain of a lifetime. I love the 2006 team, their memory is burned into my brain. I will remember the giant Pisani in overtime as long as I live, and work every day to forget Game 7. There is pain, real pain, and there is this.

Fernando Pisani scored the only goal of the first period, but in the second period the floodgates opened. In the second period, Chris Pronger scored on a penalty shot, and Ethan Moreau cashed too. Deep in the second period, Edmonton had a three-on-one with Jason Smith a part of it. The puck was passed, hit Mike Commodore in the helmet, and it was jailbreak the other way. Dwayne Roloson, who was shaky in the game, could not cover the puck, it slipped out, and Rob Brind’Amour had a short putt for the first Carolina goal of the series.

The third period turned the series. Carolina scored three, Roloson was injured 14 minutes into the period, Hemsky got the goal to bring it back to even. Last minute of play, confusion by Ty Conklin, that’s all she wrote. The die was cast.

One of the problems in this series for Edmonton had been getting shots through to the net. Carolina was selling out, so Cam Ward was less busy than he should have been. Coach MacTavish talked about pucks and bodies to the net in the off day and just 2:31 into the game Jaro Spacek sent a shot to the net that was tipped by Shawn Horcoff. That was enough until midway through the third period, when Carolina tied it (Brind’Amour again) and it began to look like overtime.

With four minutes left and Carolina was pushing hard and Jussi Markkanen was damned busy. Pronger barely left the ice. With less than three minutes left, Ryan Smyth broke into the Carolina zone, back passed and charged the net. A shot from Hemsky in the high slot, Ward stopped it but could not control the rebound with Smyth on top of him. Confusion, kick or shot? PUCK IS IN.

It is a series.

Midway through the first period, Sergei Samsonov scored a dandy goal that featured the pure skill of this great Oilers team. Radek Dvorak and Jarret Stoll also played a role in the marker. Carolina quickly tied the game however, and then Mark Recchi scored in the second period. Although the least famous of the games, this one was key to Carolina winning Stanley.

I met Pisani years later, had a chance to interview him. I could still feel the excitement over that goal, and I thanked him for scoring it. As an older fan now, I can tell you that are actually quite few moments that bring together and entire fanbase like that one, singular, beautiful goal. In the spring of 2006, a giant walked among us, and his name was Fernando Pisani. He scored that goal 10 years ago, today.

It was a raucous Rexall and the Oilers had this one in the bag long before the final buzzer.

I have posted the score, the summary and series summary here, but have not watched the game since it happened and have no plans to do so in the coming years.

I loved that team, and all of the difficult moments—Pronger trade to the oncoming deals that we will see in the next two weeks—will ever change that for me. The connection between that Oilers team and Oilers Nation will last a lifetime. It was a beautiful spring, and I loved it.

Previously in the series: