The Captain Comes Up Clutch
With Dwayne Roloson knocked out of the game, Ty Conklin came in to play the final six minutes. Conklin hadn't played since Edmonton's season finale just under two months prior, so he was coming into the game and the series ice cold. This would prove costly for the Oilers. Conklin came out of his net to play the puck after the Canes dumped it in. Oilers captain Jason Smith came in to take the puck, but Conklin put a little too much on the pass. Rod Brind'Amour swooped in, stole the puck, and placed it into the empty net with 31.1 seconds left to give the Canes a 5-4 lead.
With time of the essence for the Oilers, they threw everything they could at Cam Ward in the final 30 seconds. For the second time in the game, Ward made a ten-bell stop on Shawn Horcoff. The Oilers tried everything they could, but Ward held his ground, stretching to make an amazing glove stop on Horcoff with 3.8 seconds remaining. This would be the final straw for Edmonton, as the horn sounded in a 5-4 Game 1 victory for the Hurricanes.