NHL Unlikely scorers net 'Canes Stanley Cup championship

Aaron Ward and Frantisek Kaberle scored in Carolina's 3-1 win in Game 7.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- This time, the Stanley Cup gets to stay on Tobacco Road.
A couple of low-scoring Carolina defensemen put Edmonton's comeback on ice and Cam Ward stopped nearly everything that came his way, giving the Hurricanes their first NHL championship with a 3-1 victory in Game 7 Monday night.
Aaron Ward and Frantisek Kaberle found the net for the Hurricanes -- a couple of unlikely players to carry the offense, considering they were each six-goal scorers during the regular season and had combined for only four in the playoffs.
Then there's the guy who made sure two goals were enough. Cam Ward, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player in the playoffs, wasn't even Carolina's No. 1 goalie at the beginning of the postseason, but the 22-year-old rookie got the call when Martin Gerber struggled in an opening round against Montreal.
Playoff ace
The young star wound up winning more games in the playoffs (15) than he did backing up Gerber during the regular season (14).
"I mean, this is a dream come true," Ward said. "I couldn't be with a better group of guys. They definitely deserve it."
Justin Williams finished off the Oilers, scoring an open-net goal with 1:01 remaining after Edmonton had cut the lead in half early in the third period.
Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger, a stalwart throughout the series, gave up the puck in the Carolina zone and wound up making a helpless dive to block Williams' gimme into the goal.
Bret Hedican, among a contingent of 30-something Carolina players who had never won the cup, leaped in the air after Williams' shot went in. The crowd of nearly 19,000, which stood throughout the game, went into a frenzy.
"We want the cup!" they chanted over and over.
They got it, bringing the trophy to territory best known for college basketball.
"I can't describe it," said Hedican, who lost in two previous trips to the finals. "Both times were gut-wrenching. I've got the scars. But tonight, all that work, all that hard work, and our team winning, it all paid off."
Drought ends
It paid off, too, for captain Rod Brind'Amour, Glen Wesley, Doug Weight and Ray Whitney. Along with Hedican, they had been in the league for a total of 78 seasons without winning the cup.
Now, they'll all have their names on it.
Fernando Pisani of Edmonton scored his playoff-leading 14th goal just more than a minute into the third to make a game of it, and goalie Jussi Markkanen had another strong game with 25 saves.
Appropriately enough, 'Canes captain Rod Brind'Amour was the first one to get the cup. He broke down in tears of joy as he lifted it up.
"He's the leader of this team," Ward said. "Once again, he came up huge for us."
Energy and passion
Right from the start, Carolina seized the momentum with the sort of energy and passion that had been missing since Game 5.
Erik Cole delivered a big hit at center ice to force Edmonton into a turnover, and Matt Cullen took off the other way with the puck. He swept in on Markkanen, who made a good save off his chest.
The Hurricanes didn't let up, keeping Edmonton bottled up in its own zone. Mark Recchi got possession behind the net and attempted a pass to Andrew Ladd standing in front, only to have the ricochet back to Aaron Ward moving in from the point.
That worked out just fine for Carolina. The defenseman delivered a slap shot that skidded through a half-dozen players scrumming in front of the net and on through the legs of Markkanen, who appeared to be screened.
It was the Hurricanes' first goal in 95:01 since the second period of Game 5.
Carolina made it 2-0 with just more than four minutes gone in the second. Kaberle fired a slap shot over a diving Jason Smith, whose sweater appeared to catch part of the puck and cause it to dip under Markkanen's left pad when he had his glove out to make the save.
Pisani gave the Oilers hope at 1:03 in the third, crashing the net to knock in a loose puck after Ward had already made one save and turned aside a rebound try.
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