Game four -- not quiteliveblogging

This isn't going to be liveblogging. This will be "blogging during intermissions". Alas, I am the last remaining person on Earth who doesn't own a laptop, and my computer and tv are on opposite sides of the apartment.

Anyway...

Sergei Samsonov got the Oilers going at 8:40 with a REALLY pretty goal. Jarrett Stoll made a stunning behind the back cross-ice pass to Radek Dvorak. He then fed Samsonov on the front porch, and there was nothing Ward could do other than watch it go by him. A perfectly executed play.

Just 29 seconds later, however, Cory Stillman knotted it up. Raffi Torres was in the box for two minutes, all by himself, feeling shame. The Canes had all the time and space in the world to rotate the puck as they wished. And they did. Stilly shoved one in from the right circle. Frantisek "I might have been the game 3 goat" Kaberle and Eric "I have been in a coma for this series" Staal got the assists. Stilly's streak is now at 12 games.

There was a lot of heavy hitting, mostly by the Oilers. Carolina will not be able to withstand that abuse, so they will have to exert some aggression themselves, or hope that the Oilers get a little too amped up and start to hit illegally.

All penalties so far have been hooking or other stick-related minor penalties. Kind of surprising with the blistering hits we've seen.

Carolina's pk has been amazing, and they got the pp going again. These are both good things.

SECOND PERIOD

Wow. Jussi Markkanen was awesome in the second period. Carolina wanted chaos, and they got it. They were able to sustain a ton of pressure on Edmonton, and Jussi rose to the occasion. He kept it from being a 5-1 game.

Early on, when the Canes had a couple of power plays, Jussi made a series of highlight reel saves, none bigger than the blocker save on Brind'Amour at ~4:00. At that point, it could have easily been 2-1 or even 3-1.

Carolina was dominating the period, but not finishing the chances. However, at 15:58, they finally did. Mark Recchi from below the left circle, down near the goal line. It was all started by Stillman forcing a turnover in the Oiler zone. Eric Staal made a smart and pretty pass to Rechhi, who hit his mark from a pretty sharp angle.

After that, there was a sequence of penalties that resulted in a 4-on-3 advantage for Carolina which will spill over to the third frame.

Carolina will have to maintain their level of energy, which will mean keeping Vasicek off the ice. He's lethargic at best.

I have to tip my cap to Markkanen, seriously. He's been amazing.

Back at the end of the game.

END OF GAME.

No scoring in the third. Actually, there were only a few shots in total.

There was a LOT of heavy hitting. Most of it by the Canes. There was one really heavy hit by Eric Staal. Frankly, I'm not sure that it wasn't boarding. Throughout the game, though, there was a lot of heavy hitting that might have been penalized in the regular season, or in game one of the conference quarterfinals. Not tonight. As I hinted at before,10 of the 12 penalties called (six per team) were of the holding/hooking variety.

Okay... So it's 3-1, and we'll have a chance to win on home ice. Two chances to win on home ice, if we need them.