For a moment there, it appeared the Buffalo Sabres were on their way to just the third Stanley Cup Finals appearance in team history. But when Henrik Tallinder (broken arm) joined fellow injured blueliners Teppo Numminen (injured hip/groin) and Dmitri Kalinin (broken ankle) on the sidelines following a Game 3 win , it became too much for the Sabres to handle. Up 2-1 in their Eastern Conference finals series with the Carolina Hurricanes, the depleted Sabres lost Games 4 and 5, and now find themselves on the brink of elimination as the teams meet tonight in Buffalo.

Game 4 was a simple matter of the Sabres’ injury-riddled defense being overwhelmed by Carolina’s hard-charging forwards. The Hurricanes scored two goals in the first 10 minutes and never looked back, rolling to an impressive 4-0 victory and evening the series at two games apiece. Subbing for Tallinder was rookie Jeff Jillson, who looked lost and registered an atrocious -3 rating despite receiving the fifthmost ice time (14:35) among Sabres blueliners. Less of a factor was fellow rookie Doug Janik,who saw less than 11 minutes’ ice time in the loss.

Two nights later in Game 5, Buffalo suffered an excruciating loss, squandering a 3-1 lead and ultimately losing 4-3 in overtime.This time, head coach Lindy Ruff decided to take the team’s fate out of the hands of Jillson and Janik, limiting them to just 10 minutes’ ice time each. Meanwhile, the other four blueliners (Toni Lydman, Brian Campbell, Jay McKee, and Rory Fitzpatrick) each played more than 25 minutes, a workload to which none are accustomed. All four defensemen have played quite well in these playoffs, but it’s fair to say that none of them is a top-tier NHL blueliner, much less capable of anchoring a Cupwinning defense.

The key component for the Hurri canes has been their goaltending. After getting off to an atrocious start in the ‘Canes’ first-round series against Montreal, rookie Cam Ward, who promptly went on a seven-game winning streak and backstopped Carolina into the conference finals, displaced starter Martin Gerber.

But Ward struggled in the first few games against Buffalo, so Gerber got his shot at redemption. He stopped all 22 shots he faced in Game 4, and appeared to have retaken the starting job from Ward. But when Gerber surrendered three goals on the first 11 shots he faced in Game 5, Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette demonstrated once again that he has no qualms about making as many goaltending switches as necessary.

The goaltending carousel is nothing new for the Hurricanes, who are on the verge of making their second trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in four seasons. Back in 2002, Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekes shared the netminding duties, with then-coach Paul Maurice wisely opting to go with the hot hand. Carolina’s cup run ended with a five-game defeat at the hands of the mighty Detroit Red Wings, but it had proven that it was possible to ride a goaltending tandem deep into the playoffs.

Waiting for the victor of this series are the Edmonton Oilers, whose run to the cup finals has restored a measure of pride to their staunchly loyal fans and enabled the team to finally begin adding to the legacy of its late-1980s dynasty.On Saturday night in Anaheim, grinders Ethan Moreau and Raffi Torres scored goals to lead Edmonton to a stirring 2-1 series-clinching victory. Afterward, former Oilers great Wayne Gretzky visited the locker room to offer congratulations and provide a direct connection between the Oilers’ five championship teams (four of which Gretzky captained) and this year’s Cinderella squad.

The Oilers have already gone further than any no. 8 seed before them, and they are now getting a much-needed opportunity to rest. Having played six- and seven-game series in the first two rounds, a relatively short five-game victory over the Ducks was just what the doctor ordered. Edmonton is the most well-balanced team participating in this year’s playoffs, receiving timely scoring from all four lines and tenacious defense from Chris Pronger, Jason Smith, and the rest of the blue line corps.

But most important of all, the Oilers are getting sensational goaltending from Dwayne Roloson, who has emerged as the biggest story of these playoffs.While he toiled away in Minnesota for Jacques Lemaire’s trapping Wild team, Roloson’s consistently solid statistics were written off as a factor of the team for which he played rather than a matter of his comparative excellence. When Oilers GM Kevin Lowe gave up a first-round pick to the division rival Wild to acquire Roloson, the general consensus was that the price was too high for an overachieving 35-year-old journeyman.

Instead, Roloson has been Edmonton’s catalyst, safety net, and hero all rolled into one,making dozens of critical saves while providing the Oilers with the stability between the pipes they had sorely lacked. An unrestricted free agent-to-be, Roloson’s stock has jujumped astronomically during the past two months,and he’s in line for what will be the first (and probably only) big payday of his career. With numerous teams (Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Toronto, to name a few) desperate for a goaltending upgrade, “Rollie the Goalie” will soon take his bank account – as he has taken the Oilers – to higher ground.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.