Have to give credit to the Oilers. Markkanen played a lot better than I thought he would. Good game by him tonight, even though that one C. Adams’ shot should have counted as a goal. I really like players like Hemsky, Spacek, Smith, etc. Torres and Moreau…not at all. I’ll keep the choice words I yelled at the tv about them to myself, though.

Hooray Hurricanes!

There’s been some talk around here recently mentioning Mike Ricci as one of the ugliest players in the league. Surely guys like Bryan Marchment and Ian Lapperiere are uglier with their noses changing direction three times! lol

And to my Edmonton Oilers……You guys had a spectacular season, after much turbulance, you got yourself into the 8th seed in the post season. You then blew past the Wings, Sharks, and Ducks, and barely came up short to the Hurricanes. You guys make Edmonton proud!!!! Congratulations!!!!! Let’s build on this and win it all next year!!!!

Anyways, I’ll see you guys next season, and maybe a little over the summer.

JannettyTheRocker………….Yeah, it’s me!!!

{Peca=conn smyth

For the last *3* years the NHL has played, including this year, the Detroit Dead… ERR, RED Wings, lost to the one team that would eventually reach the Stanley Cup Finals, and each time that same team has lost it all in 7? You would think that, if history is any indication, that Carolina would win the big one tonight, BUT those last 2 failed attempts at buying a Cup for the Dead Things were in the OLD NHL. Maybe now with all of the rule changes and enhanced speed of the game, and higher scoring, that this year could be an exception to that “superstition”, if you will. That said, GO OILERS!

BTW, excuse my last posts. It’s not that I wasn’t pulling for them to win, it’s just that I was starting to doubt them the way Carolina has managed each prior team, because even in having an injured D, Buffalo was still one of the tougher teams in the playoffs, and I’ve never seen any team stick to the Oil in Game 1 of this series the way Carolina did, barring that costly injured to Rolli at the end (4 of those 5 goals came against him, after all), but in any event, GO OIL! Bring the Cup back home where it belongs, in it’s rightful place in Canada!

Roloson was my favorite candidate going into the Finals, but his injury has ended that from the realm of possibility. From the Oilers, my favorite candidates are:

Fernando Pisani- only the leader in playoff goals this year and he’s collected big goals in this Finals series. As a pending UFA he will stay in Edmonton as a Edmonton native, but he will be getting a hefty raise next season.

Chris Pronger- playoff teams wish they had d-men like him. Blocks shots, scores goals on PP, plays every situation and is hardly ever off the ice. The Oilers don’t beat Detroit without him, but that was a great team effort too.

Shawn Horcoff- my Edmonton darkhorse for the trophy. Plays every situation, has long been one of my favorite players. He scored that huge 3 OT goal against San Jose that turned that series, he’s been very solid for the Oil in this series.

For Carolina it’s less difficult to pick a winner.

Cam Ward- to me the only reason the Canes even made the Finals. Marty Gerber wouldn’t have gotten them past Montreal,and after 1 game against Buffalo where he was barely tested he fell apart in the next game. Cam Ward stole games in every series for the Canes and certainly stole game 1 of the Finals. No Hurricane is more deserving than him.

Rod Brind’amour- Although I hate seeing his face (certainly in the running for the NHL’s ugliest player award, perhaps 2nd only to Mike Ricci) he’s Carolina’s captain and leader. Scored huge goals for them in every series, plays all situations, and wins the big draws when the Canes need him most. As most likely the Canes won’t fork over the huge raise he’s due, as a UFA Brind’amour should attract attention.