The 2006 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2005–06 season, and the culmination of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs. The first Stanley Cup Final since 2004 after a lockout canceled the entirety of the 2004–05 season, it was contested between the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes and the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers. Carolina defeated Edmonton in seven games to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup and become the tenth post-1967 expansion team and third former WHA team to win the Cup. Carolina's 2006 win was also the team's second league championship (the club, then known as the New England Whalers won the WHA Championship in 1973). This was the first professional sports championship won by a team from North Carolina.
It was Carolina's second appearance in the Finals, the other being in 2002, a loss to the Detroit Red Wings. It was Edmonton's seventh appearance in the Finals and their first since winning their fifth Stanley Cup in 1990. It was also the first (and to date only) Finals matchup between teams that entered the league in 1979.The 1979 expansion agreement between the NHL and the World Hockey Association resulted in what the NHL considers to be the folding of the WHA and the addition of four NHL franchises in their place including the Oilers and Hartford Whalers, the latter of which moved to North Carolina in 1998. The NHL does not consider the clubs admitted to the league in 1979 to be former WHA franchises.
This was Carolina’s last Stanley Cup championship until 2026.
Paths to the Finals
Carolina Hurricanes The Hurricanes won the Southeast Division and clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, they defeated the seventh-seeded Montreal Canadiens in six games. In the second round, they defeated the third-seeded New Jersey Devils in five games. In the Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes defeated the fourth-seeded Buffalo Sabres in seven games to make their second Stanley Cup Final in five years.
Edmonton Oilers The Oilers entered the playoffs as the 8th seed in the Western Conference. In the first round, they shockingly upset the Presidents' Trophy winner Detroit Red Wings in six games. They then beat the fifth-seeded San Jose Sharks in six games in the second round after trailing two games to none. In the Western Conference Final, the Oilers beat the sixth-seeded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in five games to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1990.
The Oilers became the first team since the NBA's 1999 New York Knicks and the first team in the history of the NHL to make it to the Stanley Cup Final as a #8 seed. This feat would also be accomplished by the Los Angeles Kings in 2012, the Nashville Predators in 2017, and the Florida Panthers in 2023.
Game summaries This series marked the first time that two former World Hockey Association teams played against each other for the Stanley Cup since they merged with the NHL in 1979. As a result of the new scheduling formula that was implemented before the 2005–06 NHL season, the Hurricanes and the Oilers did not meet during the regular season.
These were also the first ever finals contested by two teams that had both missed the playoffs the previous season (skipping 2005 due to the lockout). It was also to be the first finals contested by teams that would both go on to miss the following year's playoffs. Prior to these Finals, only the 1938–39 Chicago Blackhawks had ever missed the playoffs one year, then played in the Stanley Cup Final (win or lose) the following season, and then missed the playoffs again the season after that. Both the Hurricanes and Oilers have now accomplished this dubious feat.
Hurricanes head coach Peter Laviolette joined Ron Wilson as the only people to have head coached in an Olympics and Stanley Cup finals in the same year, having coached the American ice hockey team during the Torino Olympics. Both would coach in either one in 2010; Wilson coached the American ice hockey team to silver medal at the Vancouver Olympics, while Laviolette would coach in the Stanley Cup Final with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Game one
In Game 1, Carolina tied the biggest comeback in Stanley Cup finals history, overcoming a three-goal deficit to win 5–4. Edmonton scored first, 8:18 into the first period, with a goal from Fernando Pisani. In the second period, Chris Pronger scored the first penalty shot goal in finals history after defenceman Niclas Wallin illegally covered the puck inside his own goal crease, and Ethan Moreau's goal at 16:23 gave the Oilers a 3–0 lead. But at the 17:17 mark, Rod Brind'Amour scored the Hurricanes' first goal of the game. Carolina then tied the game in the third period with two scores by Ray Whitney. The Hurricanes jumped ahead 4–3 on a shorthanded breakaway goal by Justin Williams, but Edmonton's Ales Hemsky scored on a power play to tie the game with 6:29 remaining. Late in the final period, Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson suffered a series-ending knee injury in a collision and was replaced with Ty Conklin. With 32 seconds remaining in regulation, Conklin misplayed the puck behind his own net, where it deflected off Jason Smith's stick to the front of the empty net, allowing Brind'Amour to score the winning goal. Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward had to make the last of his 34 saves with 3.8 seconds remaining, robbing Shawn Horcoff for the second time in the third period with a glove save to preserve the victory. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st EDM Fernando Pisani (10) Raffi Torres (5) and Jaroslav Spacek (7) 08:18 1–0 EDM 2nd EDM Chris Pronger (5) – ps Unassisted 10:36 2–0 EDM EDM Ethan Moreau (2) Matt Greene (1) 16:23 3–0 EDM CAR Rod Brind'Amour (10) Justin Williams (10) and Cory Stillman (13) 17:17 3–1 EDM 3rd CAR Ray Whitney (7) Doug Weight (12) and Andrew Ladd (3) 01:40 3–2 EDM CAR Ray Whitney (8) – pp Mark Recchi (6) and Eric Staal (14) 05:09 3–3 CAR Justin Williams (6) – sh Chad LaRose (1) and Aaron Ward (3) 10:02 4–3 CAR EDM Ales Hemsky (6) – pp Jarret Stoll (5) and Chris Pronger (14) 13:31 4–4 CAR Rod Brind'Amour (11) Unassisted 19:28 5–4 CAR Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st CAR Mike Commodore Roughing 02:12 2:00 EDM Steve Staios Tripping 11:45 2:00 EDM Marc-Andre Bergeron Interference 14:12 2:00 CAR Bret Hedican Tripping 14:46 2:00 CAR Niclas Wallin Tripping 14:55 2:00 CAR Rod Brind'Amour Hooking 16:33 2:00 2nd EDM Michael Peca Elbowing 05:59 2:00 CAR Niclas Wallin Covering puck in crease 10:36 Penalty shot EDM Radek Dvorak Hooking 18:33 2:00 3rd CAR Frantisek Kaberle Hooking 02:11 2:00 EDM Ethan Moreau Cross-checking 04:28 2:00 CAR Bret Hedican Hooking 08:11 2:00 CAR Eric Staal High-sticking 12:53 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 8 12 18 38 8 7 11 26
Game two
With Roloson's injury, Jussi Markkanen started for the Oilers in game two. Although Markkanen had played 37 games in the regular season, sharing the job with Ty Conklin and Mike Morrison, he and Conklin switched back and forth during the playoff as the backup (with the other sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch); he also had not played in a game since March 1, 2006. Late in the third period, Edmonton forward Georges Laraque checked Carolina forward Andrew Ladd into the boards, resulting in a major penalty and Laraque being ejected from the game. The Hurricanes went on to shut out the Oilers, 5–0, with five different Carolina players scoring goals, and Cam Ward making 25 saves to record his second shutout of the postseason. It was the first time three goaltenders had been used in the Stanley Cup Final since 1970, when the St. Louis Blues employed Jacques Plante, Glenn Hall and Ernie Wakely on their way to being swept by the Boston Bruins. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st CAR Andrew Ladd (2) Eric Staal (15) and Frantisek Kaberle (7) 06:21 1–0 CAR 2nd CAR Frantisek Kaberle (3) – pp Ray Whitney (5) and Matt Cullen (10) 10:28 2–0 CAR CAR Cory Stillman (8) Niclas Wallin (5) and Justin Williams (11) 19:57 3–0 CAR 3rd CAR Doug Weight (3) – pp Mark Recchi (7) and Matt Cullen (11) 02:21 4–0 CAR CAR Mark Recchi (6) – pp Frantisek Kaberle (8) and Matt Cullen (12) 04:12 5–0 CAR Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st CAR Craig Adams Interference 03:26 2:00 EDM Chris Pronger Hooking 11:13 2:00 CAR Cory Stillman Goaltender interference 12:47 2:00 CAR Ray Whitney Hooking 18:46 2:00 2nd EDM Matt Greene Cross-checking 05:34 2:00 EDM Jason Smith Roughing 06:20 2:00 EDM Raffi Torres Interference 08:52 2:00 CAR Aaron Ward Holding 11:23 2:00 EDM Shawn Horcoff Interference 14:20 2:00 3rd EDM Sergei Samsonov Goaltender interference 01:31 2:00 EDM Ethan Moreau Roughing 02:47 2:00 EDM Ryan Smyth High-sticking 05:01 2:00 CAR Aaron Ward Cross-checking 08:52 2:00 EDM Georges Laraque Tripping 11:14 2:00 CAR Glen Wesley Holding 14:12 2:00 EDM Georges Laraque Boarding – major 16:44 5:00 EDM Georges Laraque Game misconduct 16:44 10:00 CAR Glen Wesley Holding 19:19 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 10 9 25 8 10 8 26
Game three
Markkanen once again started in net with Roloson still out. Georges Laraque returned to the Edmonton lineup after being ejected the previous game. Shawn Horcoff scored just over two minutes into the first period. During the second period, a short-handed goal was waved off by the referee, because he had lost sight of the puck and had blown the whistle, despite the fact that the puck had not yet been covered. The Hurricanes responded midway through the third period with their captain, Rod Brind'Amour, taking a rebound off a blocked shot past Markkanen. However, with 2:15 left in the game, Edmonton's Ryan Smyth scored the winning goal after crashing into Ward inside the crease as they both tried to get control of a rebound off of a shot by Ales Hemsky. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st EDM Shawn Horcoff (6) Jaroslav Spacek (8) and Ales Hemsky (8) 02:31 1–0 EDM 2nd None 3rd CAR Rod Brind'Amour (12) Cory Stillman (14) 09:09 1–1 EDM Ryan Smyth (6) Ales Hemsky (9) and Jaroslav Spacek (9) 17:45 2–1 EDM Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st CAR Doug Weight Interference 06:03 2:00 EDM Chris Pronger Tripping 10:02 2:00 CAR Craig Adams Tripping 12:30 2:00 CAR Kevyn Adams Hooking 13:03 2:00 CAR Mark Recchi Hooking 15:53 2:00 EDM Radek Dvorak High-sticking 17:57 2:00 2nd CAR Matt Cullen Holding 01:37 2:00 EDM Shawn Horcoff Playing with a broken stick 06:04 2:00 CAR Rod Brind'Amour Holding 06:48 2:00 EDM Matt Greene Interference 10:25 2:00 EDM Dick Tarnstrom Hooking 16:04 2:00 3rd CAR Bret Hedican Interference 02:42 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 8 11 25 9 11 10 30
Game four
Edmonton got off to a good start when Sergei Samsonov opened the scoring at 8:40 of the first period. However, the lead was short-lived as Cory Stillman replied just 29 seconds later to tie the game at 1–1. Stillman also made a sound defensive play on Chris Pronger late in the second period, tipping the puck away in the Edmonton zone to the front of the net, where Eric Staal fed a pass to Mark Recchi, who scored the eventual game-winning goal with 4:08 to go in the period. Once again Edmonton's power play was ineffective, failing to capitalize on five chances, including a two-man advantage in the first period. When the game ended, the Oilers were 1-for-25 on the power play to this point in the series.