Oilers, Thrashers Coach Fined For Criticizing Refs

The NHL is sending a message to all players and coaches across the league: Keep your mouth shut.

The league on Saturday fined Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish and Atlanta Thrashers coach Bob Hartley $10,000 each for criticizing referees.

MacTavish was livid after referee Mick McGeough called off an Oilers goal before center-ice faceoff late in the third period Friday night. McGeough believed he saw a glove pass by Shawn Horcoff, but replays did not show that happen.

"I know he is a veteran official and at times I have found his antics humorous, but if this is the product of that, there is a problem," MacTavish told the press after the game. "It was a ridiculous call."

MacTavish added that McGeough "should be suspended." McGeough commented after the game, saying, "My judgment was poor on the play."

Colin Campbell, the league's director of hockey operations, said in a statement that MacTavish's remarks were completely unnecessary..

"While the NHL regrets the missed call, Craig MacTavish's comments after the game regarding the call were totally inappropriate and crossed the line," Campbell said.

Hartley was handed a gross misconduct and fined for screaming and yelling at officials near the end of a game last week against Washington.

Oilers 3 Sharks 2, triple-overtime (Sharks lead series 2-1)

Alberta Shawn Horcoff scored at two-24 of triple-overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 3-to-2 win over San Jose in Game Three of the Western Conference semifinals. The Sharks lead the series two-games-to-one.
Patrick Rissmiller and Patrick Marleau scored second-period goals to put the Sharks ahead 2-to-1. The lead held up until Raffi Torres beat Vesa Toskala (VEH'-sah TAHS'-kah-lah) with six-47 left in regulation.

Torres also set up Marc-Andre Bergeron's first-period goal.

Toskala finished with 55 saves, including 30 in overtime. Dwayne Roloson made 18 of his 32 saves after regulation.

Game Four is Friday at Edmonton.

Hurricanes 3 Devils 2 (Hurricanes lead series 3-0)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ The Carolina Hurricanes are ahead three-games-to-none in the Eastern Conference semifinals after Rod Brind'Amour scored the game-winner in a 3-to-2 win at New Jersey.

Brind'Amour snapped a two-all deadlock with one minute left in the second period, sending the Hurricanes to their seventh straight win. It was Brind'Amour's sixth playoff goal.

The 'Canes went ahead 2-to-1 when Matt Cullen and Justin Williams scored one-51 apart in the first period. But Patrik Elias (EH'-lee-ahsh) tied it in the second period after assisting on Sergei Brylin's (BREE'-lihnz) goal.

Cam Ward stopped 28 shots for the Hurricanes, who began their winning streak when Ward replaced Martin Gerber in the nets before Game Three of the conference quarterfinals.

Carolina can close out the series Saturday afternoon at the Meadowlands.

Sabres 3 Senators 2 (Sabres lead series 3-0)

J.P. Dumont scored at five-oh-five of overtime to give Buffalo a 3-to-2 victory and a three-games-to-none lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Ottawa.

The Sabres blew a pair of one-goal leads in the third period before beating the Senators for the ninth straight playoff game. Jason Spezza (SPET'-suh) twice tied the game with power-play goals against Ryan Miller, who finished with 26 saves.

Chris Drury's power-play goal put the Sabres ahead midway through the first period. Maxim Afinogenov (ah-fihn-uh-GEHN'-ahf) gave Buffalo a 2-to-1 advantage in the third period. But the Senators extended the game on Spezza's goal with 90 seconds left in regulation.

The Sabres can close out the series Thursday night.

Edmonton Oilers- Carolina Hurricanes

Stanley Cup
Best of seven


The most expected series on ice started on Monday June 5. The Stanley Cup just began and sports betting fans are very excited to watch and bet on this series. The Edmonton Oilers after winning to the Angels 4-1 got there pass to the finals; in the Eastern Conference, the Hurricanes won it 4-3 after a very even series.

Stanley Cup finals game 1, left the Oilers in a position they couldn’t expect, after a 3-0 lead; things turned around for them heavily. Also, starting goalie Dwayne Roloson will not play the rest of the series, after suffering an injury that coach Craig MacTavish described "as bad as Radek (Dvorak)." Dvorak was injured May 8 and missed eight games. This injury is an important loss for Edmonton and will definitively make a difference in the rest of the series. Roloson was injured at 14:06 of the third period, with the score tied, 4-4, when Oilers defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron crushed puck-carrying Hurricanes forward Andrew Ladd into Roloson and the right goal post.

Among sports betting fans the first game was surprising…Edmonton leaded 1-0 in the first period, what could we think; obviously it was not the end for Carolina. But the Oilers ended at a certain point of the game leading 3-0; what seemed to be Edmonton’s first victory. Carolina, who lost the cup in 2002 against the Red Wings, could not be beaten like that, not at home. They ended winning the game 5-4 with not such an outstanding performance. “I'm almost confused what to feel, honestly," said Peter Laviolette, the Carolina coach. “I don't think you will find anybody in our locker room that is real happy with the way we played," said Laviolette. “We've got to be a lot better if we are going to be successful in a seven-game series. We are better than that. We just didn't show it tonight."

Edmonton’s MacTavish said: "The important thing for us as a team is to bounce back and I know we can. I feel very confident that we can bounce back from it. I've been in this situation before.” "I felt that we played a solid game tonight and we can recover from this. I just passed on to Rolly that, job well done, and it's up to us to take it from here and we're capable of doing that."
After a long road to the Stanley Cup, both teams are aware that 4 games must be won in order to get the championship and it will not be easy for either team. Edmonton whose last appearance in a Stanley Cup Final was back in 1990; are letting Roloson aside and concentrating on a series that is going to be harder after this injury. The Hurricanes are aware such bad periods played as game 1, could not happen again. They can’t afford to play like that if they want to win the cup.
This series are exciting, sportsbooks odds are incredibly interesting and games ahead are going to show much more than expected…this series are burning.

Oilers arrive in Raleigh

They're here! The Travelling Wilburys, or whoever they are, finally arrived for the Stanley Cup final.
Actually they're the Edmonton Oilers, but they could be just about anybody to the folks here, not having played the Carolina Hurricanes here since 2001 and nobody knowing where the heck Edmonton is anyway.
But they're here!
Let the Stanley Cup final begin!
For a team with a nine-day break between games, the Oilers certainly cut it fine here yesterday.

For a team with a nine-day break between games, the Oilers certainly cut it fine here yesterday.

First a van rolled up and Ryan Smyth, Chris Pronger and Dwayne Roloson, direct from the airport, jumped out and were hustled -- without having time to stop to sign autographs for four Oiler fans camped in front of the Marriott Crabtree -- to a press conference scheduled to start one minute after their arrival.
"Seeing you guys just magnifies everything," said Smyth as he sat down on the dais in a room filled with media.
Eight days is a long time to wait to get to your dream after you realized it. For nine straight seasons Pronger had made the playoffs but suddenly he was here.
"Today is probably the first day I've finally felt like we're getting close to play in the Stanley Cup final," he said.
Smyth said if they had to wait another day it might have gotten ugly.
"We needed to get here because the last couple of practices we had at our get-away were scrimmages and were getting a little intense. I think if it went on any longer we'd have had some scraps. It's time to play."
The three stayed on the dais for the better part of half an hour while NHL support staffers nervously awaited their team bus. It, too, arrived in the nick of time.
The players paraded directly to the ballroom where their sweaters were draped on the walls and where they were required to stand in front of them, on 2' x 2' risers, to take questions.
"It's exciting to walk in here. It's exciting to be here," said Shawn Horcoff.
But they hadn't been there long when some picked up on the tone of the questioning which was focused a lot on the Oilers being the first eighth seed to get to the final.
"We're a very good team," said Ethan Moreau. "It's not like we're a bunch of nobodies who got this far."
When everybody had filled their notebooks in that session, it was back to the press conference room where GM Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish were ushered in.
It was suggested to MacTavish that the fans here don't know much about the Oilers or about Edmonton and wondered if the reverse was true.
"They know," he said.
"They know exactly where Raleigh is right now. It's the centre of the universe in Edmonton right now."
Lowe laughed.
"They probably know your team a lot better than your fans know our team. And probably every one of them has come golfing here at some point of their lives."
MacTavish jumped in.
"To get away from that blistering heat in Edmonton."
Seriously, though ...
"It's a little bit different venue here than what is maybe the norm in the Stanley Cup final. We'll get a sense of it very quickly. We just flew in so we really don't have a sense of the atmosphere yet other than what we've seen on TV. The atmosphere looks pretty electric in the building, so we're looking forward to that. We're ready to play a game."
Tonight it begins.
HERE'S HOPING ...
"I think what's going to make this series really exciting is that there's great drama from both dressing rooms. I think there are all sorts of great storylines in this series. Let's hope the Oilers are the final storyline," said Lowe.
"Obviously there are going to be some ramifications in terms of our readiness," said MacTavish. "Are we going to be refreshed and energized or are we going to have a tough time adjusting to the quicker pace of the game having been off for nine days? As a coach, I don't have an answer. I'm as interested as anybody else to see."
With that, he and his hockey team went and checked into their hotel. They're here!

Oilers beg fans to calm down

Edmonton Oilers tough guy Georges Laraque says he's saddened that a handful of hooligans are soiling the reputation of some of the world's best fans.
And he hopes the escalating post-game havoc on Whyte Avenue stops before it reaches a full-scale riot.
"It's sad to see some of the incidents that happened," Laraque told Sun Media yesterday. "I hope it won't come to the point that it will ruin everybody's celebration."
The latest spate of hooliganism late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, which included bonfires, smashed telephone booths, flying beer bottles and broken windows along Whyte has garnered nationwide media attention.

Laraque says he's been doing his best to ignore the media reports because he finds them depressing during a time that should be sheer jubilation for the city.
The team's enforcer also believes the thugs behind the Old Strathcona mayhem aren't hockey fans.
It's people who are caught up in the moment and they want to cause trouble," he said, adding he still thinks the Oilers have the best fan base in pro hockey.
"I love the fans. I think we have the best fans in the world."
The Oilers are planning a series of public service announcements asking Edmontonians to behave themselves during their final run for the Stanley Cup.
Team president president Patrick LaForge said the Oil will work with the city and the Edmonton Police Service to produce print, radio and television spots calling on hockey hooligans to lay off.
"They don't represent our ethics or our morals or our pride in the city," said LaForge.
"I think they're using the Oilers' celebration of success to let their crazy demons out."
The city's mayor, police chief and probably a couple of Oilers will ask rowdies to stay at home for the remainder of the Stanley Cup run.
Forward Ryan Smyth told reporters Sunday: "Obviously we would like everybody to be safe and have fun, but be responsible too."
Oilers legend Al Hamilton, who retired in 1980, said the events on Whyte are overshadowing the teams accomplishments.
"It'd be nice if everybody just walked away from the whole thing (on Whyte) and didn't have the big celebration there, but that's not likely to happen," said Hamilton, 59.

Oilers Beat Ducks for 2-0 Lead in NHL Western Conference Final

Fernando Pisani, Chris Pronger and Michael Peca scored goals as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 3-1 to take a two-games-to-none lead in the National Hockey League's Western Conference Finals.
Pisani scored his eighth goal of the playoffs with 2:51 left in the second period to snap a 1-1 tie at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, and help Edmonton to its sixth consecutive win.
The Oilers, the eighth seed in the Western Conference, will host the next two games of the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is scheduled for May 23 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, where the Ducks have lost 12 straight games.
Edmonton, the first eighth seed to reach the third round since the NHL's current playoff system was adopted in 1994, is 18-0 all-time when holding a 2-0 lead in a postseason series. The Oilers were last in the conference finals in 1992.
Pronger opened the scoring for the Oilers today, getting a power-play goal with 6:52 left in the opening period.
The Ducks, the sixth seed in the West, tied it 6:12 into the second period on Jeff Friesen's third goal of the playoffs.
Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves for the Oilers, including 10 in the third period. Peca added a short-handed goal with 18 seconds left to give Edmonton its second straight 3-1 win. The Oilers have won 12 of their past 13 games against Anaheim.

And a Child Shall Lead Them

By Mike Brody
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Rookie goaltenders have had success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before – most notably with Ken Dryden in 1971 and Patrick Roy in 1986, both leading the Montreal Canadiens to the Cup – but never before has a crop of rookie goalies dominated the playoffs like they have this season.

Of the five remaining teams in this year’s playoffs, three are led by rookie goalies and another by a first-year starter. Carolina’s Cam Ward, Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, Anaheim’s Ilya Bryzgalov, and San Jose’s Vesa Toskala have all enjoyed incredible playoff success thus far.

Seven-year veteran Dwayne Roloson of the Edmonton Oilers, who was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Minnesota Wild, is the only experienced goaltender left. I don’t think anyone would have predicted that, especially with the presence of such big-name goalies as Martin Brodeur and Miikka Kiprusoff, and other veteran backstops or NHL powerhouses like Detroit’s Manny Legace, Dallas’s Marty Turco, and Colorado’s Jose Theodore, among the contenders.

The New Favorite

Thanks to a surprisingly easy 4 games to 1 victory over the New Jersey Devils, and a dominating performance winning four straight games over Montreal after losing the first two in Round 1, the Carolina Hurricanes have emerged as the new favorite to win Lord Stanley’s Cup. Despite finishing the regular season with 112 points, just 1 behind Eastern Conference leader Ottawa, the Hurricanes’ odds of winning the Cup entering the playoffs were posted at 10-1. That was before the oddsmakers had seen Ward turn away almost every shot he’s faced.

In 10 playoff games, the 22-year-old rookie has allowed just 17 goals while posting a 1.77 goals against average (GAA). Ward let in just five goals in Carolina’s four victories over New Jersey as he outplayed his boyhood idol Brodeur. With his stellar play, and the Hurricanes’ opportunistic offense, led by 100-point scorer Eric Staal, Carolina will be tough to beat.

The Upstart Challenger

The Sabres’ Miller is the only U.S.-born goalie among the Fab Four. He hopes to duplicate the feat of another rookie American goalie, Ron Hextall, who led the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1987. After a shaky start in Game 1 against Ottawa, Buffalo’s defense and Miller shut down the Senators the rest of the way, allowing two or fewer goals in each of the last four games. The Michigan native has a 2.25 GAA and a .921 save percentage in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Buffalo’s defense has been stellar in front of Miller. Defensemen Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder lead all playoff performers in plus/minus at plus-13. The Sabres’ offense has been scoring in bunches. Buffalo has a team-leading 43 goals scored in 11 games and is riding high after winger Jason Pominville’s shorthanded, overtime goal clinched the series against Ottawa.

Mr. Perfect – Almost

Anaheim’s Bryzgalov has been the most surprising and impressive of all the rookies. Bryzgalov didn’t even enter the playoffs as the Ducks’ No. 1 goalie. That honor went to Jean-Sebastian Giguere, who led Anaheim to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003, his second year in the league, and was named the Conn Smythe winner as the MVP of the playoffs that season.

After splitting their first four games against Calgary in Round 1, the Ducks made the switch to Bryzgalov and they haven’t regretted it. The 24-year-old Russian has practically stood on his head as he is sporting a ridiculous 0.87 GAA and .967 save percentage. He recorded three straight shutouts, including Game 7 at Calgary to clinch that series. In doing so, Bryzgalov set a rookie playoff record, holding opponents scoreless for 249 minutes, 15 seconds. Only Montreal’s George Hainsworth, 270:08 in 1930, has had a longer playoff scoreless streak.

The Final Four

San Jose’s Toskala is hoping to join his fellow first-year netminders in the conference finals. After an excellent series against Nashville in Round 1, including a shutout in Game 2, and two 2-1 victories to open the Edmonton series, Toskala and the Sharks find themselves on the ropes as the Oilers have stormed back to take a 3-2 series lead. Edmonton will try to close it out at home on Wednesday night.

San Jose’s offense is led by Patrick Marleau, who leads all playoff goal scorers with nine. The Sharks will need to get an early lead and help Toskala protect it to force a Game 7 at home on Friday.

The Finals

The matchup between Ward and Miller should be as entertaining as it gets. Both are capable of stealing a game or two for their respective teams. Carolina is the favorite, but Buffalo has a lot of momentum and Miller has shown he can win the close games with four one-goal victories against Ottawa. Look for the Sabres to get to the Finals.

The Ducks have had a long time off after unexpectedly sweeping the Avalanche. Anaheim may be a little rusty to start the conference finals, but the Ducks have good veteran leadership in Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne and will ride the stellar play of Bryzgalov past either the Oilers or the Sharks to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

San Jose Sharks vs. Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have embraced the underdog role throughout the playoffs. They eliminated the Presidents' Trophy winner in the first round. They fell behind 0-2 in the second round. They even had their national anthem booed on the road in Game 5.
Through it all, the Oilers continue to persevere. Now they look to wrap up their Western Conference semifinal series against the San Jose Sharks and advance to the conference finals for the first time since 1992.
Despite entering the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West, the Oilers players may be the only ones who are not surprised about being on the cusp of the third round.
"Everybody believes in that locker room," Oilers defenseman Chris Pronger said. "That's the first step for us. Everybody is buying into the system. Even when we were down 0-2, we just felt we could win two home games and be right here."
After a rough start, Edmonton has righted itself to take control of this series from San Jose. The Oilers have scored 12 goals in their last two games and exploited weak penalty killing by the Sharks Sunday to post a 6-3 road victory in the pivotal Game 5.
The Sharks seemed to have every advantage that game: they were playing at home, they outshot the Oilers 24-18 and outhit them 34-16, yet Edmondton still pulled out a 6-3 win in large part to San Jose's inability to shut down the Oilers' power play.
Fernando Pisani ended a wild four-minute sequence at the start of the third period by converting a 2-on-1 from Ryan Smyth and beating Sharks goaltender Vesa Toskala to snap a 3-3 tie. Jarret Stoll and Smyth added power-play goals later in the period for Edmonton, which went 3 for 7 with the man advantage and left Sharks coach Ron Wilson looking for answers to try and extend this series to a decisive seventh game.
"We've made it obviously pretty hard on ourselves," Wilson said. "You can't blame Tosk. We gave up 2-on-1's, a giveaway, a deflection ... very easily correctable mistakes, and we have to hold each other accountable to do things right. We've got to work a heck of a lot harder."
Toskala will start this game trying to find the form from his first seven games, when he allowed 12 total goals. But he has not been the same since allowing a game-winning goal to Shawn Horcoff that ended Game 3 in triple overtime.
"I don't think we have to make a goaltending change," Wilson said. "Vesa has been a rock back there. Last night, he didn't have a chance in any one of the goals. We didn't do a good job of supporting him and our focus now is to make sure we get back to doing what we do best which is playing sound defensive hockey."
While Edmonton's power play has thrived, San Jose's has been brutal. The Sharks are just 2-for-27 (6.9 percent) in this series, a far cry from their 18.2 percent (91-for-500) success rate in the regular season.
"They are pressuring us up the ice and we're coasting back for pucks," Wilson said. "We've got some guys who might be viewing themselves as they have a right to be on the power play instead of the view that it's a privilege."
Including the regular season, the Sharks have lost seven of their last 10 games in Edmonton, but the Oilers feel the urgency to close the series out and avoid a return trip to San Jose, where they lost the first two games of the series.
"The fourth win is always the hardest. We have to come prepared," Pronger said. "They are going to bring their best game. They battled back hard. There's no quit in that team. We've got to make sure we're focused and prepared. It's going to be a battle in Game 6."
If the Sharks win, they will host Game 7 Friday. If the Oilers win, they will meet the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the conference finals.