Carolina Hurricanes Tickets

In the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Carolina lost the first two Eastern Conference Quarterfinal games at home against the Montreal Canadiens, and there was a strong possibility that the Hurricanes' excellent season would come to a sudden end. In Game 7, before the second-largest home crowd in franchise history (18,978), the Hurricanes jumped to an early 1-0 lead on an Aaron Ward blast from the right circle. They nearly made it 2-0 in the waning minutes of the first period, when Craig Adams corraled a rebound and drove it toward the net. Defenseman Steve Staios jumped on the puck to keep it from going over the line after a mistimed tip by Ales Hemsky. Referee Brad Watson initially signaled for a penalty shot, but it was washed out by a delayed penalty on Ethan Moreau. However, the Hurricanes began the second period on a power play. The Oilers managed to kill it off, but weren't so lucky when Jaroslav Spacek drew a holding penalty later in the period. At 4:18, Frantisek Kaberle blasted one in from the left circle. Edmonton finally got on the board early in the third period on a Pasani goal. The game remained in doubt until the Oilers pulled Markkanen in hopes of sending the game into overtime. However, at 18:59 of the period, an errant clearing pass wound up on the stick of Bret Hedican, who dumped it to Eric Staal, who tipped it to Justin Williams. Williams tapped it into the net, sealing the Hurricanes' first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.