Did Carolina Need a Hurricane of Luck in 2005-2006?

The Carolina Hurricanes will always go down as the first team to win the Stanley Cup in the post-lockout NHL.

The team had a 52-22-8 record that year and certainly earned their spot in the postseason. But did they earn the Cup that came with it?

Eric Staal had a great rookie year. Cam Ward emerged as the go-to guy in the playoffs. Guys like Rod Brind'Amour, Cory Stillman, and Ray Whitney brought veteran presence. In the playoffs, though, it's a whole new game.

Down 1-0 in the first round series against the Montreal Canadiens, Justin Williams caught the Canadiens' captain Saku Koivu in the eye with a high stick. Koivu was forced to leave the game and the Hurricanes did not even receive a penalty.

Montreal would still win the game, however the Hurricanes would go on to win the next four while Koivu was forced to sit out the rest of the series.

The second round was the only one Carolina really won on their own. The Eastern Conference Finals against the Buffalo Sabres may have proved the luckiest for the Hurricanes.

Injuries began to pile up for the Sabres and they had as many as seven regulars out of the lineup, including four defensemen.

That means four of the six Sabres defensemen were call-ups from the Rochester Americans, and a few were seeing their first postseason action.

Buffalo still managed to take the series to seven games, but the Hurricanes escaped with the victory. It's hard to believe that a healthy Sabres team wouldn't have knocked these guys out.

Now on to the Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton goaltender Dwayne Roloson was playing the best hockey of his career and brought his Oilers to the big dance. In game one, Oilers fans were crushed as Dwayne Roloson got injured after Marc-Andre Bergeron pushed a Hurricane player into him.

Ty Conklin stepped in for the final 15 minutes of the game. With the score tied at four, he would make a crucial mistake during a miscommunication with Jason Smith. He tried to drop the puck back to Smith behind the net, only to have Brind'Amour take it and sweep it into the empty cage.

Tragically for Conklin, this happened in the last minute of the game and proved to be the winner.

Unsurprisingly, Jussi Markkanen started in goal for the rest of the series and did a good job, considering the position he was put in.

He and the Oilers took the series to seven games, only to have the Hurricanes sneak out with the win yet again. Would they have won if Roloson was in goal for the series?

Injuries are a part of the game, but would these guys have won if the opposition was healthy? Can they win it again? Only time will tell, but first they have to make the playoffs again.