Reuters
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"He won't be back in the series."
There isn't a player on the Edmonton Oilers roster — not even sturdy defenseman Chris Pronger — whose loss that resilient team could not have overcome in this Stanley Cup finals. Except, of course, the No. 1 goalie: Dwayne Roloson.
The goalie who played 19 straight games — all but the final, meaningless regular season contest — after being acquired at the trade deadline. The goalie who, back in Edmonton, stood as the only other Conn Smythe candidate next to Pronger, if the Oilers had managed to win their sixth Cup.
The goalie who was only acquired by general manager Kevin Lowe because the two netminders who preceded him simply could not get the job done for the Oilers. Now, MacTavish will choose from those backup goaltenders, Jussi Markkanen and Ty Conklin, for his Game 2 starter, after his team gassed a 3-0 lead and lost in heartbreaking fashion, 5-4 to the plucky Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals.
The winning goal was itself the first sign of cracks in the Oilers' armor, caused by Roloson's departure with 5:54 left in the game.
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In Edmonton, they'll equate this goal to defenseman Steve Smith's fatal gaffe in 1986, when he fired a pass off of the back of Grant Fuhr's leg, losing a Game 7 against Calgary in the second round. That left a hole in what might have been five straight Stanley Cups for the Oilers, who won in '84, '85, '87 and '88.
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"Don't get too many of those. I'll definitely take it," said Brind'Amour, who had scored late in the first period to cut into Edmonton's 3-0 lead.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Check out highlights from the Rangers 3-2 win over the Capitals.
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‘Goalie’s not good’ June 5: Oilers coach Craig MacTavish talks about the series-ending injury to goalie Dwayne Roloson and where his team goes from here |
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