When the Edmonton Oilers made the Stanley Cup Final two years ago, it felt almost as magical as 18 years prior. When they went on the road for Game 5, and won both that and then Game 6 (at home), the magic increased. That previous “last Oilers team to make the Cup Final” didn’t have the same expectations, however, as a team led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
The 2005–06 Edmonton Oilers barely scraped into the playoffs at all, but got great goaltending throughout the postseason. Even when star acquisition Dwayne Roloson was hurt, Jussi Markkanen stepped up admirably. Superstar forwards aside, the charm of both 2006 and 2024 is nearly identical- right down to the last home game of the season: Game 6. In 2006, Game 6 was so one-sided, even the Carolina Hurricanes’ coach knew it would end in defeat.
This is the story of the game that, arguably, cemented Edmonton’s playoff atmosphere as the best in the league. Only Montreal can really match the roar of Rogers Place, or back in the day, the Northlands Coliseum. And June 17, 2006 proved just how loud Edmonton hockey crowds can be.
The Oilers and Hurricanes had different paths that almost didn’t happen
In a “normal” alternate timeline, neither of these teams would have even made it past the first round. For starters, the Oilers were tasked with trying to knock off the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings. That Wings team was coached by some guy named Mike Babcock; he might lead them to a Cup, but surely he’ll be retired, 20 years later…
The ‘Canes, meanwhile, found themselves down two games to none against the Montreal Canadiens. Usually, that’s a death knell for a team, although the few who overcome that scenario generally succeed. At minimum, they end up going to the Stanley Cup Final.
Of course, neither situation ended in elimination for either Edmonton or Carolina. Heck, the Oilers faced an 0–2 hole themselves in the second round, and like the ‘Canes, just rattled off four straight wins like it was nothing. That gave birth to the famous “wait ’till they get to Edmonton” quote from Ryan Smyth. Remember that quote for the rest of this story.
Between both of these teams, the ‘Canes were the only one to face a Game seven before the Cup Final. Also in an alternate universe, Edmonton would face the Buffalo Sabres for the 2006 Stanley Cup. One part of Canada would have come away happy regardless in that timeline.
So after an 8–1 run that brought the Oilers from mortal peril to owning California hockey, they ended a 16-year Cup Final drought, since surpassed as a franchise record. Carolina, in the meantime, put away the pesky Sabres in a home Game 7. That set the stage for the Stanley Cup Final that is our focus.
As far as settings and context go, it couldn’t have been any more perfect
We may have forgotten with the downpour-riddled summer we’ve had in Edmonton this year. But generally, Edmonton summers are sunny, relatively warm but not humid, and best spent outdoors. 2006 was no exception to this rule, and especially not the day of June 17 that year.
Not only was the weather beautiful, but so were the vibes. Having stared down the dagger against Carolina in Game 5, Fernando Pisani continued his Conn Smythe-calibre playoffs with the first shorthanded Overtime winner in Stanley Cup Final history. That set up an even more fitting Saturday night contest. Hockey Night In Canada, Saturday night, playoffs, at one of the game’s most storied venues- it doesn’t get any better.
If the Oilers could beat the ‘Canes in their barn, anything was now possible. On top of nobody expecting this Edmonton team to be in the Final in the first place, this made hopes of all fans in the city turn into belief. No longer was it “could we?”; it was now “we can.”
When you look at the fans inside the ol’ Coliseum, you can see just how much the Oilers were fueled to win. Those fans spoke for every hockey fan in the city at the time. Pure, unfiltered passion and spirit, and conviction that this was our year, dominated the scene. Side note, if anyone ever asks you where the Oilers car flag was born, you point to that exact location on Wayne Gretzky Drive.
The game itself, and the opponents realizing they weren’t going to win
After suffering an injury in Game 5, former Oilers captain Doug Weight bowed out of the ‘Canes lineup. His replacement would be a future Oiler who fellow Puckdoku players likely know well: Erik Cole. Cole himself had been recovering from a devastating regularseason injury that could have been career-ending. But he was healthy enough now, to take Weight’s spot in the lineup.
The first 20 minutes of this game were pretty innocuous; no goals, and four penalties, two per side. Both teams went zero-for-two on the power play in that first period. Honestly, if you’re Carolina, making it out of the first period unscathed is a win in and of itself. They might have been feeling good about themselves, even.
1–0 Edmonton
Individual penalties are one thing, but team penalties are totally different. Barely a minute into the second period, the Hurricanes get sloppy with the line changes. A too-many-men penalty is called, and future Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd serves the minor. If you hear boss music, that’s Fernando Pisani’s theme playing, as his time is now.
That was Pisani’s 13th goal of the playoffs, and he still had one more in him in the next game. For context, 2009 Sidney Crosby and 2018 Alex Ovechkin each wound up scoring 15 goals en route to their first Cups. Pisani was literally an NHL superstar during the 2006 playoffs.
2–0 Edmonton
After a four-on-four goal thanks to a rare embellishment penalty called in the Final, Edmonton kept pushing. Whoever had Raffi Torres in the office pool for a five-on-five goal in this game could be called Nostradamus. Just before the halfway point of the contest, Torres parked himself in front of the net. Steve Staios shoots the puck from the point, and a la Zach Hyman, Torres redirects the puck home.
Torres was a really good player for the Oilers during this run. Obviously his future NHL years are remembered much more infamously, but 2006 Torres was about as good as 2022 Evander Kane. Every championship team needs a guy with this kind of profile: tough, gritty, but skilled, and can beat you in more ways than one.
3–0 and 4–0 Edmonton
The second and third periods were, for Stanley Cup Final play, very penalty-filled. After just four infractions in the first, thirteen were called the rest of the way. Somehow, the ‘Canes didn’t even muster one goal, although their shots on goal were limited heavily all night.
Ryan Smyth got the Oilers’ second power play goal of the night three minutes into the third period (because of course he did). And Shawn Horcoff scored the last home goal of that Oilers season at 13:05 (also on the power play). The Oilers really only needed the one 5v5 goal in this game, but hey, might as well throw a party in the last home game of the season.
Jussi Markkanen wasn’t busy in this game, but he was still stellar, posting a 16-save shutout to help the Oilers reach a Game 7 two nights later in Raleigh. The number 30 and backup goalies have some sort of special magic to it in this franchise’s history. We’ll see how well it works when Freddie Andersen uses that number as a starter in 2026–27.
Bonus note: Even Canes Head Coach Peter Laviolette knew winning Game 6 wasn’t a likely outcome for Carolina. The home teams in the seven games this series went 5–2, with only one of the two losses decided in regulation. Laviolette has said that “That was a really tough moment to realize now you’re going back to game 6,” following Pisani’s heroics.
Darkness followed, but this moment endured both despite and because of the darkness
There’s too much doom and gloom that follows this glorious Saturday night to discuss in one article. So here’s the cliff notes version: the Oilers did not win Game 7 despite Pisani’s and Markkanen’s efforts. After that, it would be ten years before the Oilers made the playoffs again. And it took a franchise-record 18 years for the team to climb back to Game seven of the Cup Final.
Worst of all, this was the last playoff game at the storied Coliseum, then known as Rexall Place. That it went the last ten years of its life without a playoff game is sacrilege at its finest. Sure, other big moments still happened in the interim, but those were mostly the Coliseum ghosts speaking.
Unlike with some other teams that go through long droughts, though, this was a fresh memory for Oilers fans to hang on to. The Sabres fan base last saw a first-round loss in 2011 before this year’s magical season. To go back to a deep playoff run, they had to go back 19 years instead of nine.
It was an iconic game that we could say was still recent. It kept everyone hopeful until the McDavid-Draisaitl era arrived during the Coliseum’s farewell season. And more importantly, it meant the return to the playoffs in 2017 brought the same energy that had bubbled beneath the surface since 2006.
Game 6 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final will forever be one of the most cherished games in franchise history. When games in the 2020s are being measured up to it, and that year’s Final as a whole, that tells you all you need to know. May we carry on its legacy even when Cup number six comes home.
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