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RALEIGH -- The first official day of hurricane season was almost the end of Hurricanes season.
It would have gone down in Stanley Cup history as one of the most remarkable achievements ever if the Buffalo Sabres had somehow, someway managed to pull this off. And they damn near did.
If they had, you could have probably awarded the Edmonton Oilers the Stanley Cup on the spot. Maybe in a sweep. But it's Carolina-Edmonton in the Stanley Cup final and few will do that now.
The Culture Shock Cup, Edmonton vs Carolina, starts here Monday. And anybody know where to find the Avco Cup?
SHADES OF AVCO
What we're dealing with here is the first Avco Cup final in Stanley Cup history. Never before have two former World Hockey Association franchises met for the National Hockey League's cherished trophy.
The Hurricanes, who were the Hartford Whalers when four WHA teams merged with the NHL, came oh so close to not being able to close. Down 2-1 when ex-Oiler Doug Weight brought Carolina back early in the third period. Weight apologized to the team after Game 6 when he took an overtime penalty which resulted in a goal to create the second Game 7 of these Stanley Cup playoffs.
While captain Rod ("I was playing a horrible game and I got the winner") Brind'Amour and Justin Williams put it away, it was a much better story if it had gone the other way.
Already missing three of their top six defencemen, Jay McKee became the fourth Sabre to be scratched. An infection in his leg left him in Buffalo. How they were able to be in the game, be leading after two periods, was somewhere between inspiring and incredible.
"Man, wow, they played with a diminished defence. I give a lot of credit to Buffalo," said Weight, who went from goat of Game 6 to a hero in this one. And now he's going back to Edmonton.
It's a pretty good story going in with Weight, Ray Whitney, Mike Commodore and Cam Ward going against Edmonton.
Ward, who hasn't been able to contribute much in the wedding planning department for his marriage to Cody Campbell July 22 in Sherwood Park, has at least put himself in position to bring a nice big silver centre-piece to the reception.
"I'm loving every minute of it," said the rookie goalie, who won his 11th Stanley Cup playoff game here last night.
"It's definitely a dream come true to have an opportunity to play the Stanley Cup final against your hometown team. It's going to be unbelievable. I have a pretty good understanding of what it's going to be like when we get there. I'm going to have a lot of friends who are a little bit torn. I'm still trying to get used to the idea it wasn't that long ago I was going to Oiler games to watch Doug Weight."
Weight said after all these years of not getting anywhere close to the Stanley Cup, he's not sure how he could have lived with himself if he didn't come back and help them to get to the final.
"It was a rough night after Game 6. I screwed up. I made a mistake. I was in the box when they scored. It was a terrible feeling."
Weight says at least they have enough guys on the team to educate everybody else.
"It's crazy there," said Weight of where he spent nine seasons playing for the Oilers.
"They feed off it. It's going to be a tough atmosphere.
"They create energy. They hit. They deserve to be where they are. They've played some great teams. Every game is going to be a battle."
NOT A BAD DEAL
Whitney said Buffalo may have been story-book but when a guy like Weight stands up in the dressing room and promises to get them even, that's not so bad either.
"Dougie did say he'd make amends for the last game," said Whitney. "He stood up and apologized for that penalty. He didn't have to do it, but he did. And he scored the goal we needed."
Whitney is a former Oilers stick boy, a former Oiler and his dad, Floyd, was the Oilers practice goalie.
"Mike Commodore and I grew up just outside Edmonton and watched that team in the '80s," said Whitney, trying to explain to local media where Fort Saskatchewan was located in comparison to Sherwood Park and Edmonton.
Commodore, the big guy with the red clown hair, became the only player from the 2004 Stanley Cup final to get back to the next one. And the former Calgary Flame wasn't just around for the ride. He scored the first goal of the game. Admittedly, it banked off two sets of skates.
"This is a little different than with the Flames. This is a little more satisfying. I feel like I've been a bigger part of it."
But don't pencil him in to win the Cup. They may have beat Buffalo but I didn't see enough to see them carrying the Cup. Oilers win a sixth Stanley Cup in '06 in Game 6.