This series marked the first time that two former
World Hockey Association teams played against each other for the Stanley Cup since they merged with the NHL in 1979. As a result of
the new scheduling formula that was implemented before the
2005–06 NHL season, the Hurricanes and the Oilers did not meet during the regular season. These were also the first ever finals contested by two teams that had both missed the playoffs the
previous season (skipping 2005 due to the
lockout). It was also to be the first finals contested by teams that would both go on to miss
the following year's playoffs. Prior to these Finals, only the 1938–39
Chicago Blackhawks had ever missed the playoffs one year, then played in the Stanley Cup Final (win or lose) the following season, and then missed the playoffs again the season after that. Both the Hurricanes and Oilers have now accomplished this dubious feat. Hurricanes head coach
Peter Laviolette joined
Ron Wilson as the only people to have head coached in an Olympics and Stanley Cup finals in the same year, having coached the American ice hockey team during the
Torino Olympics. Both would coach in either one in 2010; Wilson coached the American ice hockey team to silver medal at the
Vancouver Olympics, while Laviolette would coach in the
Stanley Cup Final with the
Philadelphia Flyers.
Game one In Game 1, Carolina tied the biggest comeback in Stanley Cup finals history, overcoming a three-goal deficit to win 5–4. Edmonton scored first, 8:18 into the first period, with a goal from
Fernando Pisani. In the second period,
Chris Pronger scored the first
penalty shot goal in finals history after defenceman
Niclas Wallin illegally covered the puck inside his own goal crease, and
Ethan Moreau's goal at 16:23 gave the Oilers a 3–0 lead. But at the 17:17 mark,
Rod Brind'Amour scored the Hurricanes' first goal of the game. Carolina then tied the game in the third period with two scores by
Ray Whitney. The Hurricanes jumped ahead 4–3 on a shorthanded breakaway goal by
Justin Williams, but Edmonton's
Ales Hemsky scored on a power play to tie the game with 6:29 remaining. Late in the final period, Oilers goaltender
Dwayne Roloson suffered a series-ending
knee injury in a collision and was replaced with
Ty Conklin. With 32 seconds remaining in regulation, Conklin misplayed the puck behind his own net, where it deflected off
Jason Smith's stick to the front of the empty net, allowing Brind'Amour to score the winning goal. Hurricanes goaltender
Cam Ward had to make the last of his 34 saves with 3.8 seconds remaining, robbing
Shawn Horcoff for the second time in the third period with a glove save to preserve the victory.
Game two With Roloson's injury,
Jussi Markkanen started for the Oilers in game two. Although Markkanen had played 37 games in the regular season, sharing the job with Ty Conklin and
Mike Morrison, he and Conklin switched back and forth during the playoff as the backup (with the other sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch); he also had not played in a game since March 1, 2006. The Hurricanes shut out the Oilers, 5–0, with five different Carolina players scoring goals. It was the first time three goaltenders had been used in the Stanley Cup Final since May 1970, when the
St. Louis Blues employed
Jacques Plante,
Glenn Hall and
Ernie Wakely on their way to being swept by the
Boston Bruins.
Game three Markkanen once again started in net with Roloson still out. Shawn Horcoff scored just over two minutes into the first period. During the second period, a short-handed goal was waved off by the referee, because he had lost sight of the puck and had blown the whistle, despite the fact that the puck had not yet been covered. The Hurricanes responded midway through the third period with their captain, Rod Brind'Amour, taking a rebound off a blocked shot past Markkanen. However, with 2:15 left in the game, Edmonton's
Ryan Smyth scored the winning goal after crashing into Ward inside the crease as they both tried to get control of a rebound off of a shot by Ales Hemsky.
Game four Edmonton got off to a good start when
Sergei Samsonov opened the scoring at 8:40 of the first period. However, the lead was short-lived as
Cory Stillman replied just 29 seconds later to tie the game at 1–1. Stillman also made a sound defensive play on Chris Pronger late in the second period, tipping the puck away in the Edmonton zone to the front of the net, where
Eric Staal fed a pass to
Mark Recchi, who scored the eventual game-winning goal with 4:08 to go in the period. Once again Edmonton's power play was ineffective, failing to capitalize on five chances, including a two-man advantage in the first period. When the game ended, the Oilers were 1-for-25 on the power play to this point in the series.
Game five Carolina had a 3–1 lead in the series and a chance to win the Stanley Cup on their home ice. However, Edmonton scored first on Fernando Pisani's redirect of a Pronger slapshot 16 seconds into the game. The Hurricanes then went ahead 2–1 on two power play goals by Eric Staal and Ray Whitney before the Oilers scored on the power play with a one-timer by Ales Hemsky to tie the game.
Michael Peca then gave Edmonton a 3–2 lead with 17.4 seconds left in the first period. In the second period, Staal poked a goal between Jussi Markkanen and the post to tie the game. Early in the third period, Hurricanes centre
Doug Weight got sandwiched by Chris Pronger and
Raffi Torres, separating his shoulder and ending his night early. Weight would not return to play for the rest of the series, but would eventually raise the Cup. Carolina defenceman
Aaron Ward also was injured in the third period, and with Carolina running out of healthy skaters, the Hurricanes were desperate to close out the game. With 7:47 remaining in the third period, Whitney missed what might have been the Hurricanes' best chance to win the series with a shot that just hit the post. The game went to overtime, where
Steve Staios drew a penalty early in the period to put the Hurricanes on the power play. Fernando Pisani picked off a cross-ice pass from Cory Stillman and streaked in short-handed to beat Cam Ward top right corner (glove side) with a left-handed shot to score the first short-handed overtime goal in finals history, giving the Oilers the upset win.
Game six Despite the emotional boost of Carolina winger
Erik Cole returning to the ice for the first time since breaking his neck in March, Edmonton dominated for the entire 60 minutes. They shut out Carolina 4–0, tying the series after down 1–3 in front of a raucous crowd at Rexall Place. They scored three power-play goals and limited the Hurricanes to only 16 shots on goal. Edmonton held Carolina to seven shots through 40 minutes of play. Fernando Pisani scored his post-season-high fifth game-winning goal (and 13th in total, also tops amongst scorers in the 2006 playoffs). This game also marked Jussi Markkanen's first career playoff shutout. This turned out to be the final playoff game at Rexall Place, as the Oilers did not make it into playoffs again until 2017 but by then they relocated to
Rogers Place.
Game seven The Hurricanes returned to the RBC Center defeating the Oilers in Game 7, 3–1, to win the Stanley Cup. Aaron Ward and
Frantisek Kaberle gave Carolina a 2–0 lead before Fernando Pisani scored for Edmonton 1:03 into the third period to cut the lead in half. With just over a minute to go in regulation, the Oilers
pulled the goalie in hopes of forcing overtime. A loose puck wound up on the stick of
Bret Hedican, who passed to Eric Staal, who himself passed it down-ice to Justin Williams. Williams skated down the length of the ice and tapped the puck into the empty net, sealing the Stanley Cup for the Hurricanes. Cam Ward became the first NHL rookie goaltender to win the Stanley Cup Final series since
Patrick Roy led the
Montreal Canadiens in , and he was also the first rookie since the
Philadelphia Flyers'
Ron Hextall in to be awarded the
Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the playoffs. The Hurricanes were the last team to win Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at home until the
Florida Panthers did so in
2024, coincidentally against the Oilers as well.
Cory Stillman earned a Stanley Cup title for the second-straight season, having won in
2004 with the
Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the first player to win back-to-back titles with different teams since
Claude Lemieux (
1995 New Jersey Devils,
1996 Colorado Avalanche). The Hurricanes' victory ended
Glen Wesley's 18-year drought without winning the Cup. He had played close to 1,500 regular season and playoff games before winning the Cup, the longest such drought in the NHL. Wesley was the last player remaining from the franchise's days as the
Hartford Whalers. Other notable veterans to win their first Cup were Rod Brind'Amour, Doug Weight, Ray Whitney and Bret Hedican. Hedican was on the losing end of another final decided in a game seven, in , while with the
Vancouver Canucks. Mark Recchi won the second Cup of his career, having won it 15 years prior as a member of the
1991 Pittsburgh Penguins. He would later retire a Stanley Cup winner with the
2011 Boston Bruins, where he teamed up with Frantisek Kaberle's brother
Tomas. The Hurricanes became the third former World Hockey Association franchise to win the Stanley Cup, following the Oilers and
Quebec Nordiques, who won as the
Colorado Avalanche in
1996 and
2001. The
2006 Stanley Cup playoffs marked the second time in a row that an
Alberta-based team had made it to the finals only to lose in seven games to the
Southeast Division champions, as the
Calgary Flames were defeated by the
Tampa Bay Lightning in the
2004 Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers were not able to complete their
Cinderella run, having entered the playoffs seeded eighth, denying General Manager
Kevin Lowe and Head Coach
Craig MacTavish from joining
Lester Patrick and
Frank Boucher as the only duos to win the Stanley Cup together as players and then as a coach-managerial team, as the two were with the Oilers as players in , and and the
New York Rangers in
1994. This was the first major-league professional championship for the state of
North Carolina by a men's team (the
Carolina Courage of the defunct
Women's United Soccer Association won the 2002
Founders Cup). It is also, the only world championship by an active North Carolina–based team in any of the
four major league sports. The Hurricanes made it to the
2002 Stanley Cup Final, losing to the
Detroit Red Wings in five games; and the
Carolina Panthers made it to
Super Bowl XXXVIII, but lost to the
New England Patriots, and
Super Bowl 50, losing to the
Denver Broncos. ==Team rosters==