The last win in a Stanley Cup playoff series is always the hardest, but I feel alot better about Games 5, 6* and 7* right about now. After another sluggish first period, the Canes again weather the storm and pull out a huge, if not mandatory, win in Edmonton. And that’s just what I needed after watching that excuse for a soccer match this afternoon.

Two thoughts on the Oilers…

1) I hope to God that Chris Pronger keeps shooting wide until October. Not only would him actually putting one on net be bad news for Carolina, I don’t think it would be too healthy for Cam Ward’s spleen, either.

2) As much as my stomach rises to strangle my throat everytime Ales Hemsky brings the puck into the Carolina zone, that dude sucks. Maybe if he shot on occasion, it’d be a different story, but all the fancy moves and world-class speed doesn’t mean squat when the other team eventually takes the puck off your stick.

(*-if necessary, of course)