The Anatomy of a Moment: The Hurricanes and Oilers Go to War to Begin the 2006 Final

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was a wild back-and-forth affair between two combatants looking to make history by winning the cup.

Edmonton Oilers v Carolina Hurricanes: Game 1
Edmonton Oilers v Carolina Hurricanes: Game 1 | Jim McIsaac/GettyImages
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The Series Gets a Major Shakeup

Dwayne Roloson, Ken Lowe
Edmonton Oilers v Carolina Hurricanes: Game 1 | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages

Though Cam Ward's stop was incredible, the Oilers would eventually get the tying goal. Ales Hemsky, Edmonton's leading scorer from the regular season, scored on the power play by burying a backhand and doing his best Bobby Orr impression to knot the game at four. A defensive breakdown allowed Hemsky to get outside of the penalty killers before making a move to the front of the net for the goal with 6:29 remaining.

It's largely agreed that the turning point in the entire series came 34 seconds later. Ray Whitney fed rookie Andrew Ladd for a chance, but Ladd lost an edge on his way to the net. Edmonton defender Marc-Andre Bergeron gave Ladd an extra push, sending him straight into Dwayne Roloson. In a flash, Edmonton's collective breaths were being held.

Undrafted out of college, Roloson signed with the Calgary Flames in 1994 but never established himself as a surefire starter. He made a stop in Buffalo for two years, and while the Blue Jackets selected him during their expansion draft in 2000, he signed with St. Louis a few weeks later as a free agent. It wasn't until he signed with Minnesota in 2001 that he finally got his chance to shine.

Roloson posted a league-best .933 save percentage during the 2003-04 season, but his season started very poorly with the Wild in 2005. In 24 games, Roloson had managed just six wins. Needing some help in the net, the Oilers traded their first-round pick in 2006 and a third-round pick in 2007 to the Wild to acquire Roloson's services. The trade became more than worth it in the playoffs, as Roloson posted a .931 save percentage through the first three rounds.

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