Roles Reversed

Going into game five, the Carolina Hurricanes were on top of the world: they had just taken a 3-1 series lead against the Edmonton Oilers on foreign ice and were headed back to the RBC Center to wrap up the series.

Going into overtime in game five they must have felt the same way - Eric Staal, who had already scored two goals, was sure to score the winner and write his way into history.

But Fernando Pisani changed all that - and sent the Oilers back to the Rextall Place for game six, where he did it again, scoring the eventual game winner in a 4-0 blowout.

Suddenly the Hurricanes aren't even in control of the series anymore, let alone riding high. Suddenly Cam Ward, who shut out the Oilers in game two, was beaten four time by Edmonton in game six - and has let in eight in the last two Oiler wins. Suddenly they're posed to be the first team since 1971 to lose the Cup on their home ice in a game seven (It was the Montreal Canadiens who won it that year - and it marked the beginning of their lodging there during the 1970s). And suddenly it looks like the Cup is Carolina's to lose. Suddenly - as we head into game seven - it looks like the roles have been reversed.

Edmonton has finally got the momentum here: they're the team that's shooting the puck and scoring, whereas Jussi Markkanen has come out as a fabulous goaltender in the last few games - even when they lost game four (2-1 final score) it was Jussi that kept it close. And now that Pisani has the scoring touch, Raffi Torres is slamming around like a pinball and the rest of the team is starting to gel, I'm starting to think that just maybe Edmonton can do it.

After all - Cam Ward is not looking quite as Ken Dryden-ish as he has been all throughout the playoffs, Eric Staal seems to be the only Hurricane that is still scoring and the Hurricanes are chaotic - they're getting sloppy penalties (Too many men on the ice) at bad times. Sure, they're heading to home ice - but question is no longer when will they win the Cup, but if they can.

Maybe they can - if Cam Ward starts playing at the same level he was before game five; if Rod Brind'Amour and the rest of the offence start scoring to supplement Eric Staal and if Mike Commodore and the rest of the defense go back to confusing the Oilers powerplay and keep the shots to a minimum for Ward. And even if they do all that, it may not be quite enough - Edmonton is looking like the latest winner in what's quickly becoming the year of the upset.