Last night’s game one between the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes was exciting. It reminded me of just how great playoff hockey in the NHL can be. There was everything in last night’s game, including the exciting penalty shot. Edmonton sure did look good. There was no rust at all. In fact, it was Carolina that looked rusty. For the first period and most of the second period, they were having trouble even connecting on simple passes.

Edmonton did almost everything right. If there was one flaw, it was the power play. They had many power play chances, yet failed to really capitalize. This game was quite a surprise in the penalty department. In the Buffalo/Carolina series, the Hurricanes were getting away with some things at home. Despite being at home last night, the officials were ready to call just about anything—and they did.

Edmonton jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second period and appeared to be off to the races. Carolina finally scored in the second to give the Hurricanes some life, now down only 2 goals. However, the Oilers were not going to let Carolina get in this game—or were they? The third period was nothing short of a complete meltdown for the Oilers that also contained perhaps a series-ending incident.

In the third period, the Hurricanes wasted no time getting back into the game. Before the Oilers knew what hit them, they were tied at 3-3. The next blow came mid-way through the third period to give Carolina a 4-3 lead. Edmonton came back fast and furious and with just under 7 minutes to go in the game, they scored the equalizer. However, this excitement died soon after when Oilers’ goaltender Roloson got caught up in a freak play. Unable to continue, the Oilers had to make a goalie switch. In came Ty Conklin with no preparation.

What happened at the end of the game was a tragedy for the Oilers. The puck came in behind the net and Conklin went to pass it off to Jason Smith. Unfortunately, Smith whiffed on the pass and the puck was sitting all alone just off the post. Rod Brind’Amour was right there and whipped the puck around the post for what was basically an empty net goal. That mistake game the Hurricanes a 5-4 lead with just over 30 seconds left to play. Edmonton gave some good shots on goal to end the game, but Cam Ward came up big and fended them off.

Perhaps the biggest news of the night was not that Carolina won and the Oilers lost, but that Oilers’ goalie, Roloson, is going for the series. He has a knee injury. His departure is a big loss for Edmonton who already had to play at the top of their game to have a shot at Carolina. Ty Conklin will probably get the nod, but the series may be in jeopardy. Stay tuned for the all important game 2 of this series that goes Wednesday night in Carolina

My prediction on game one came through. I hope you bet it !