Oilers crash party

The Canes' poor play early and the explanation of the winner don't sit well with Brind'Amour

EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- The anger was so plain on Rod Brind'Amour's face, it might as well have been written there in permanent ink.

Anger at the fact it took the Carolina Hurricanes two periods to find their stride.

Anger at the explanation he was given on the goal that won the game for the Edmonton Oilers.

And anger, perhaps, at the way the Oilers treated him Saturday night, although he had no interest in entertaining that thought.

Brind'Amour's goal midway through the third period tied the score, only for Edmonton's Ryan Smyth to crash the net with 2:15 to play and give the Oilers a 2-1 victory in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals.

The win brought the Oilers within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series after they dropped the first two games in Raleigh, and Game 4 is here Monday. With the wild Rexall Place crowd in full voice, the Oilers have given themselves new life, avoiding the deadly 0-3 hole that has spelled doom for 24 of the 25 teams to test that fate in the finals.

But it wasn't the loss that piqued Brind'Amour's ire. It was the way the Hurricanes played early, and the way the Oilers won it.

Smyth couldn't handle Ales Hemsky's bouncing pass into the crease from the right wing, but he inadvertently knocked it in as he fought past Aaron Ward to crash the net, colliding with goalie Cam Ward.

"I got hit a little bit from behind," Smyth said. "I followed the puck, and it came up off Cam Ward's stick and it just happened so quick. Doesn't matter -- it's in the net."

The Canes complained at length to referee Mick McGeough that Smyth interfered with Cam Ward, but to no avail.

"It's not so much the interference as the explanation," Brind'Amour said. "That's what gets me. He said it hit him outside the crease and it went in. That's what bothers me. He said it hit him outside the crease and went in, and that's not what happened. That's what frustrates me, not how it goes down. It's a crock. That's not what happened, and he was standing right there. That's what frustrates me. It's not the end result. Whatever. It's the National Hockey League. What do you expect?"

For the Hurricanes, the first half of the game was an exercise in survival. Six of the first nine penalties went against them, and the Oilers had the better of the chances by far, forcing turnover after turnover. By the midway point of the second period, they were outshooting Carolina 18-9.

But Ward was outstanding in his first start in net in his hometown as resolute penalty-killing -- the Canes killed off all seven Edmonton power plays on the night -- and a few fortuitous bounces kept the Canes within a goal going into the third period. Then, Brind'Amour tied it up on a night when the Oilers seemed determined to hassle him.

"Rod Brind'Amour doesn't get frustrated," Hurricanes center Doug Weight said. "He just plays harder."

Steve Staios drew a cross-checking penalty behind the play in the second period that left Brind'Amour visibly displeased, and Raffi Torres popped Brind'Amour in the neutral zone, knocking off his helmet. Brind'Amour also took a cross-check in the ribs that went uncalled.

Brind'Amour scoffed at the notion that he was targeted for abuse, but it was clearly a major part of Edmonton's game plan.

"We were not passing up any opportunities to punish a guy who's playing 25 minutes a game," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "He played 24-odd minutes tonight, and you always want to make those as tough minutes as possible. When you see Rod coming down, you want to make sure you're finishing your checks. I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight."

His revenge came with 10:51 to play. Cory Stillman passed the puck out of the corner to Brind'Amour in the slot, whose shot hit Edmonton defenseman Jason Smith in the throat. As Smith crumpled, the puck fell to Brind'Amour, who beat a scrambling Jussi Markkanen.

Stillman extended his point streak to 11 games with the assist, second only to Eric Staal's 15-game streak earlier in the playoffs.

The Canes were playing from behind after less than three minutes. Shawn Horcoff fought off Bret Hedican in front of the Carolina net to tip a Jaroslav Spacek shot through Ward's legs as the Oilers scored first for the second time in the series.

Edmonton had a great chance to extend the lead when Craig and Kevyn Adams were sent to the penalty box in short order, giving the Oilers 1:27 of two-man advantage. But the Canes killed off the power play, the second lengthy five-on-three they have survived against the Oilers.

"I thought that could be a good turning point for us," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "Any time you can kill off a five-on-three and in somebody else's building for an extended period of time, it's an opportunity to use that momentum in your favor."

But the Canes couldn't rally until the third period. By then, as it turned out, it was too late.

"I thought we got to our game, finally, and we were starting to get going, but we waited too long," Brind'Amour said. "There was no momentum. We killed off a lot of penalties. That's not how we need to play."