The writing is now on the wall. Last night, in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Carolina Hurricanes outlasted the Edmonton Oilers for a 2-1 victory. The Game 4 victory gave the Hurricanes a commanding 3-1 series lead and perhaps the Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes have two home games left and pretty much no one expects the Oilers to come back in this one. They would have to win the remaining 3 possible games, including two in Carolina, to take the series.

The Oilers gave it a go, but it was not enough. I don’t think anyone can use the loss of their goalie as an excuse now as Markkanen played very well in the past two games, but the Oilers simply failed to score. If they had the same ferocity and scoring in the past few games as they did in game one, this series would belong to Edmonton. While many are calling it a surprise, I am not too surprised about their poor performance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

After all, the Oilers were the 8th seed in the West and by all accounts, not up the Hurricanes talent wise. Game five at Carolina might be more of a formality than anything else. The Hurricanes have completely dominated the Stanley Cup Finals and on Wednesday they can close out the 2006 season and make their dominance official. The puck drops on game 5 at 8:00 pm EST. The Hurricanes will be the favorite and they will most likely be hoisting the Cup after three periods of hockey—that’s all that could remain in this great 2006 season.