Series Matchups

STANLEY CUP FINAL
Carolina vs Edmonton

ROUND THREE
Western Conference
Anaheim vs Edmonton
Eastern Conference
Carolina vs Buffalo

ROUND TWO
Western Conference
San Jose vs Edmonton
Anaheim vs Colorado
Eastern Conference
Ottawa vs Buffalo
Carolina vs New Jersey

ROUND ONE
Western Conference
Detroit vs Edmonton
Dallas vs Colorado
Calgary vs Anaheim
Nashville vs San Jose
Eastern Conference
Ottawa vs Tampa Bay
Carolina vs Montreal
New Jersey vs NY Rangers
Buffalo vs Philadelphia

Carolina	VS	Edmonton
Carolina wins best-of-seven series 4-3

Rod Brind'Amour (Getty Images)

Hurricanes capture 1st Stanley Cup

The Carolina Hurricanes took a page out of the Edmonton Oilers' playbook Monday night to win the first Stanley Cup in the history of the franchise.» FULL STORY

Carolina Hurricanes:

Regular-season statistics | Roster | Depth Chart

Edmonton Oilers:

Regular-season statistics | Roster | Depth Chart

Past Stories

TEAM ANALYSIS

Regular-season numbers	Strengths	Weaknesses	Key Player
Carolina Hurricanes 2nd in East 52-22-8 112 points Key Numbers GF: 286 (3rd) GA: 258 (T-19th) PP: 17.9% (17th) PK: 81.8% (T-17th) » Season leaders	The Hurricanes can score, as they showed by piling up the second-most regular-season goals in the East, and they've added a new wrinkle to their explosive offence – a hot power play. After finishing in the bottom half of the league in regular-season power-play efficiency, Carolina has the best conversion rate in the league during the playoffs. The Hurricanes have also tightened up their defence. Carolina came into the post-season having allowed more goals than any playoff team, but rookie goalie Cam Ward, who took over the starting job early in the first round, has helped the Hurricanes become surprisingly stingy – their playoff GAA of 2.44 is slightly better than the Oilers’.	Penalty killing has been a soft spot all season for the ‘Canes, who finished 17th in the regular season with an 81.8% success rate. Carolina has been better in the post-season but is still a long way off from Edmonton’s playoff-best rate. Against the Oilers, whose 3.16 goals per game ranks third-best in the post-season, Ward will have to step up his game The 22-year-old was sensational in his first nine starts of the playoffs, posting a .936 save percentage, but that came against relatively punchless foes in Montreal and New Jersey. Facing high-flying Buffalo in the Eastern Conference final, Ward’s save percentage dipped to a bit.	Eric Staal: One of the biggest surprises of the post-lockout NHL, the 6'4", 205-lb. Staal piled up 45 goals and 100 points, more than tripling his rookie output, to finish seventh in scoring in his sophomore season. The 21-year-old centre has been just as sensational in his post-season debut, leading all playoff scorers with 20 points, including seven goals. But has Staal finally hit the wall? His playoff-best 15-game point-scoring streak was snapped in Game 6 of the conference final, and Staal was a virtual non-factor at the end of Carolina’s seven-game triumph over Buffalo, getting shut out over the final two games of the series. » Complete Stats
Edmonton Oilers 8th in West 41-28-12 95 points Key Numbers GF: 249 (15th) GA: 242 (12th) PP: 18.1% (14th) PK: 84.1% (8th) » Key Numbers	The Oilers had a mediocre penalty-killing unit in the first round, but definitely turned things around against the Sharks and Mighty Ducks. During the second round, Edmonton only allowed two goals on 35 San Jose chances. The Oilers' unit was even better in the Western Conference final as the Ducks went a paltry 3-for-39 on the power play. Aside from the obvious play of Dwayne Roloson, a lot of Edmonton's success stems from using its four-man box perfectly while blocking numerous pucks, which has led to the best penalty-killing unit in the playoffs.	Despite having the best penalty-killing unit, Edmonton has shown little discipline throughout the post-season. The Oilers have been short-handed 114 times, easily the most of the other three teams (Anaheim, Buffalo and Carolina) that advanced to the conference finals. Although Edmonton killed off 69 of 74 penalties in the last two rounds, the Ducks and Sharks had below-average power plays in the playoffs. With the Oilers now competing for the Stanley Cup, they can't afford to take too many penalties against a Carolina team that has the best power play in the post-season.	Dwayne Roloson: Ryan Smyth calls Roloson Edmonton's best player and the 36-year-old veteran has certainly proved it during these Stanley Cup playoffs. Roloson leads all goaltenders with 12 playoff wins and has repeatedly bailed out his teammates with several key saves. An anonymous player heading into the playoffs, Roloson will be well-scouted for the Stanley Cup final as the Carolina Hurricanes try to figure a way to score more goals than Edmonton's last three opponents. » Complete Stats

Regular-season numbers

Strengths

Weaknesses

Key Player

Carolina Hurricanes
2nd in East
52-22-8
112 points

Key Numbers
GF: 286 (3rd)
GA: 258 (T-19th)
PP: 17.9% (17th)
PK: 81.8% (T-17th)

» Season leaders

The Hurricanes can score, as they showed by piling up the second-most regular-season goals in the East, and they've added a new wrinkle to their explosive offence – a hot power play. After finishing in the bottom half of the league in regular-season power-play efficiency, Carolina has the best conversion rate in the league during the playoffs. The Hurricanes have also tightened up their defence. Carolina came into the post-season having allowed more goals than any playoff team, but rookie goalie Cam Ward, who took over the starting job early in the first round, has helped the Hurricanes become surprisingly stingy – their playoff GAA of 2.44 is slightly better than the Oilers’.

Penalty killing has been a soft spot all season for the ‘Canes, who finished 17th in the regular season with an 81.8% success rate. Carolina has been better in the post-season but is still a long way off from Edmonton’s playoff-best rate. Against the Oilers, whose 3.16 goals per game ranks third-best in the post-season, Ward will have to step up his game The 22-year-old was sensational in his first nine starts of the playoffs, posting a .936 save percentage, but that came against relatively punchless foes in Montreal and New Jersey. Facing high-flying Buffalo in the Eastern Conference final, Ward’s save percentage dipped to a bit.

Eric Staal: One of the biggest surprises of the post-lockout NHL, the 6'4", 205-lb. Staal piled up 45 goals and 100 points, more than tripling his rookie output, to finish seventh in scoring in his sophomore season. The 21-year-old centre has been just as sensational in his post-season debut, leading all playoff scorers with 20 points, including seven goals. But has Staal finally hit the wall? His playoff-best 15-game point-scoring streak was snapped in Game 6 of the conference final, and Staal was a virtual non-factor at the end of Carolina’s seven-game triumph over Buffalo, getting shut out over the final two games of the series.

» Complete Stats

Edmonton Oilers
8th in West
41-28-12
95 points

Key Numbers
GF: 249 (15th)
GA: 242 (12th)
PP: 18.1% (14th)
PK: 84.1% (8th)

» Key Numbers

The Oilers had a mediocre penalty-killing unit in the first round, but definitely turned things around against the Sharks and Mighty Ducks. During the second round, Edmonton only allowed two goals on 35 San Jose chances. The Oilers' unit was even better in the Western Conference final as the Ducks went a paltry 3-for-39 on the power play. Aside from the obvious play of Dwayne Roloson, a lot of Edmonton's success stems from using its four-man box perfectly while blocking numerous pucks, which has led to the best penalty-killing unit in the playoffs.

Despite having the best penalty-killing unit, Edmonton has shown little discipline throughout the post-season. The Oilers have been short-handed 114 times, easily the most of the other three teams (Anaheim, Buffalo and Carolina) that advanced to the conference finals. Although Edmonton killed off 69 of 74 penalties in the last two rounds, the Ducks and Sharks had below-average power plays in the playoffs. With the Oilers now competing for the Stanley Cup, they can't afford to take too many penalties against a Carolina team that has the best power play in the post-season.

Dwayne Roloson: Ryan Smyth calls Roloson Edmonton's best player and the 36-year-old veteran has certainly proved it during these Stanley Cup playoffs. Roloson leads all goaltenders with 12 playoff wins and has repeatedly bailed out his teammates with several key saves. An anonymous player heading into the playoffs, Roloson will be well-scouted for the Stanley Cup final as the Carolina Hurricanes try to figure a way to score more goals than Edmonton's last three opponents.

» Complete Stats