The Games.org

Goaltenders

30 Cam Ward
47 John Grahame

Defensemen

2 Glen Wesley
5 Frantisek Kaberle
6 Bret Hedican
7 Niclas Wallin
8 Tim Gleason
22 Mike Commodore
28 Andrew Hutchinson
45 David Tanabe
48 Anton Babchuk




Forwards
11 Justin Williams
12 Eric Staal
13 Ray Whitney
14 Kevyn Adams
16 Andrew Ladd
17 Rod Brind'Amour
18 Ryan Bayda
19 Trevor Letowski
24 Scott Walker
25 Eric Belanger
26 Erik Cole
27 Craig Adams
37 Keith Aucoin
59 Chad Larose
61 Cory Stillman

In the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Carolina lost the first two games of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal at home against the seventh-seeded Habs, leading many to believe that the Canes' grand season would come to a sudden end. Coach Laviolette made what would prove to be a fateful decision, lifting goalkeeper Martin Gerber in favor of rookie Cam Ward.



The Final began on June 5 as the Hurricanes hosted the Edmonton Oilers in Raleigh, marking the first time in NHL history that two former WHA franchises had played in the Final. The Canes rallied from a 3-0 deficit in Game 1 to win 5-4 after Rod Brind'Amour scored with 30 seconds left after some miscommunication behind the net between the Oilers' captain Jason Smith and backup goalie Ty Conklin, who had replaced injured starter Dwayne Roloson with five minutes to play.

In Game 7, before the second-largest home crowd in franchise history (18,978), the Hurricanes jumped to an early 1-0 lead on an Aaron Ward blast from the right circle at 1:26. In the waning minutes of the first period, Craig Adams corraled a rebound and drove it toward the net. The game remained in doubt until the Oilers pulled Markkanen in hopes of sending the game into overtime. However, at 18:59 of the period, an errant centering pass wound up on the stick of Bret Hedican, who dumped it to Eric Staal. He put it out to center ice where Justin Williams gathered the puck and scored on an empty-net breakaway, sealing the Hurricanes' first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

The Hurricanes' Stanley Cup championship marked the first professional major league sports title for a team from the Carolinas. They are the second consecutive Southeast Division team to win the Cup, after the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04; like the Hurricanes, Tampa Bay defeated a team from the Northwest Division - Edmonton's provincial rival in Alberta, the Calgary Flames. .