Stanley Cup Heroes, Part 4: The Hometown Hero
One of the best parts of the Stanley Cup playoffs is the inevitable random player who plays out of their mind and helps their team find glory.
Edmonton-native Fernando Pisani was a bottom 6 forward for pretty much his entire career. He never averaged more than 17 minutes of ice time per game and accumulated more career penalty minutes than he did points. He was certainly not a goon, but he was never a prolific scorer. His career-high in goals for a season was 18 in 2005-06 as a 3rd liner. I think he qualifies as a “random player”.
The Oilers entered the 2006 playoffs as the 8th seed, expected to get absolutely wrecked by the 1st-seed, 58-win, 124-point. President’s Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings. At the time, they had the 4th most wins and points in a season in NHL history. The Oilers are cannon fodder for them… at least that’s what everyone assumed.
The Oilers pulled off a massive upset, beating the Red Wings in 6 games. There were multiple reasons why. Chris Pronger was a monster as a defenseman and Dwayne Roloson was brilliant between the pipes. However, Pisani may have been the biggest reason. He scored over a quarter of Edmonton’s goals in the series, including 4 in the final 3 games.
Had the Oilers gotten their doors blown off in round 2, it would’ve been nothing more than a neat story. Little did they know, it was far from over. The Oilers marched all the way to the Cup Final, beating the Sharks and Ducks along the way. Pisani was relatively quiet, putting up just 4 goals and 6 points in the 11 games.
Once in the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers went down 3-1 to the Hurricanes. Pisani had 1 goal and Edmonton as a team had only scored 7 goals. It was looking like the magical run would end abruptly. Heading into game 5, in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Cup was in the building.
Pisani scored just 16 seconds into the game. It was the first goal of a crazy period that would end 3-2 in favour of the Oilers. Eric Staal tied it up and we would get overtime. 1 goal would decide it all. Their season hung in the balance. To make matters worse, the Oilers committed a penalty just 3 minutes into OT. It felt inevitable Carolina would score.
Pisani was on the 2nd penalty kill unit thanks to his experience as a bottom 6 grinder. Just 15 seconds into the powerplay, Pisani jumped over the boards for teammate Michael Peca right after the Oilers dumped the puck into Carolina’s defensive zone. Cory Stillman sent a soft pass to the middle of the ice. Pisani stepped in the way.
“It’s broken- here’s a break, it is Pisani, SCORES” - Bob Cole
Fernando Pisani scored the biggest goal in Oilers history since they won the Cup in 1990 (see photo). He saved Edmonton’s season with a shorthanded winner. The Oilers carried that momentum into game 6 where they won 4-0. Pisani had a goal and an assist to set up game 7.
The Hurricanes were up 2-0 after 2 periods, setting up a do or die 3rd. Pisani scored 1 minute in. He had another chance in the final minutes on an odd-man rush and the Hurricanes’ goaltender, who was on his own magical run, shut the door. Carolina would hang on and win the Cup.
Fernando Pisani finished the 2006 playoffs with 14 goals. He is 1 of 13 players to accomplish the feat in the last 30 years. Of the 13, he did it with the 2nd least amount of shots on goal. He’ll go down as an Edmonton legend forever. A kid that likely grew up rooting for the Gretzky Oilers got to live out his dream and nearly won them a cup.
For 1 year, he became Edmonton’s Stanley Cup Hero.
