2005 – 06 Edmonton Oilers season The 2005 – 06 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers ' 26th season in the NHL , and they were coming off a 36 – 29 – 12 – 5 record in 2003 – 04 , earning 89 points , finishing in 9th place in the Western Conference , failing to qualify for post - season play . The Oilers qualified for the playoffs in eighth place , and put on a playoff run , finishing with a loss in the Stanley Cup Final . Offseason . Due to the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout , the 2004 – 05 NHL season was cancelled when the players and owners could not agree to a new CBA . The two sides would come to agreement , and there would be many changes for both the Oilers and the NHL as a whole . The NHL introduced a salary cap of $ 39 million for the 2005 – 06 , which meant the teams above that figure would cut salary to fit under the cap . The Oilers , who had a lot of cap room , took advantage of this , and the St . Louis Blues would trade former Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger to the Oilers in exchange for Eric Brewer , Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch . Pronger would then sign a 5 year , $ 25 million contract with Edmonton . The Oilers would then make another blockbuster trade , this time acquiring former Selke Trophy winner Mike Peca from the New York Islanders for Mike York and a 4th round draft pick . The NHL also made a number of rule changes , such as adding a shootout to determine the winner of a game that was tied after 5 minutes of overtime to eliminate ties , goaltenders were not allowed to play the puck in the corners of the ice surface , and the referees would crack down on obstruction . Regular season . The Oilers would start off the season rather slowly , sitting with a 9 – 9 – 1 record after 19 games , but the club would get hot , going 21 – 9 – 7 in their next 37 games . As the trade deadline approached , the club did not have a clear # 1 goalie , and they addressed this issue by trading their 1st round draft pick in 2006 to the Minnesota Wild for Dwayne Roloson . Edmonton would also add former Calder Trophy winner Sergei Samsonov to the club , as they sent Marty Reasoner and Yan Stastny to the Boston Bruins to acquire him . The Oilers played mediocre hockey for the rest of the season , but managed to finish in 8th place in the Western Conference , and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2003 . Just before the playoffs , a big Edmonton Oilers logo appeared at center ice . Offensively , Ryan Smyth would lead the club with 36 goals , his highest total since scoring 39 goals in 1996 – 97 , and 22 year old Ales Hemsky would breakout , earning a club high 58 assists and 77 points . Shawn Horcoff would also have a breakout season , scoring 22 goals and 73 points , as would Jarret Stoll , as he would score 22 goals and earn 68 points . On defense , Chris Pronger would anchor the blueline , earning a defenceman best 56 points , while Marc - Andre Bergeron would score 15 goals and 35 points from the blueline . Ethan Moreau had a club high 87 penalty minutes . In goal , Edmonton would use a trio of goaltenders until the arrival of Dwayne Roloson at the trade deadline . Mike Morrison would win 10 games and have a 2 . 83 GAA , but he would not last the season with the Oilers , as he would be lost on waivers to the Ottawa Senators . Ty Conklin , the starter from 2003 – 04 , would appear in only 18 games , going 8 – 5 – 1 with a 2 . 80 GAA , before being sent to the minors . Jussi Markkanen won a club high 15 games , and would serve as Dwayne Roloson ' s backup when the club acquired him . Roloson would have a team best 2 . 43 GAA , and have a 8 – 7 – 4 record with the team . Playoffs . Edmonton would open up the playoffs against the President ' s Trophy winners , the Detroit Red Wings , who finished with 124 points during the season . After the Wings won the first game in double overtime , Edmonton would tie the series with a solid 4 – 2 victory to return home with a split . The teams would exchange wins in the 2 games in Edmonton , and return to Detroit for game 5 tied 2 – 2 . Edmonton would hang on for a 3 – 2 victory in game 5 , and return home looking to close out the series . The Oilers hang on to win the 6th game 4 – 3 , eliminating the heavily favoured Red Wings 4 – 2 , and Edmonton won their first playoff series since 1998 . In the 2nd round , the Oilers would have to face the 5th seeded San Jose Sharks , who finished the season with only 4 more points than Edmonton at 99 . The Sharks would take control of the series early on , winning both games in San Jose by 2 – 1 scores , however , the Oilers would get a much needed triple overtime victory in game 3 , and then win the 4th game to tie the series up at 2 , heading back to San Jose . The Oilers would dominate the Sharks in the 5th game , winning 6 – 3 , and would win the series with a 2 – 0 shutout in game 6 , to earn a spot in the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 . The Oilers would have a Western Conference Final matchup against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim , who were the 6th seed in the conference , and finished with 2 more points than Edmonton during the season . Edmonton , who had won their last 4 games , stayed on their hot streak , winning the first 2 games in Anaheim by 3 – 1 scores . The Oilers would take a 3 – 0 series lead with a 5 – 4 win , however , the Mighty Ducks would avoid the sweep by defeating the Oilers 6 – 3 in game 4 . Edmonton would rebound , winning the 5th game 2 – 1 , and earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since winning it in 1990 . Edmonton would face the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals . In the opening game , goaltender Dwayne Roloson would go down to injury midway through the 3rd period with the score tied at 4 , and Ty Conklin came in to replace Roloson , however , he would allow the winning goal as Carolina won the game 5 – 4 . With Jussi Markkanen starting in game 2 , the Hurricanes dominated the Oilers , winning the game 5 – 0 . Edmonton would rebound in the 3rd game , playing their first home game in the Stanley Cup Finals since May 22 , 1990 , with a 2 – 1 victory , but the Hurricanes would take the 4th game 2 – 1 to take a commanding 3 – 1 series lead . The Oilers , facing elimination , would take the 5th game to overtime , and win the game by a 4 – 3 score to stay alive . The series returned to Edmonton for game 6 , and the Oilers shutout Carolina 4 – 0 , setting up a 7th game to determine the champion . The Hurricanes , led by goaltender Cam Ward , played a very solid defensive game , and hold the Oilers to a single goal , while the Hurricanes managed to put 3 behind Jussi Markkanen , to win their 1st Stanley Cup in club history . " * Later traded to the San Jose Sharks . " < br > Transactions . " * * Later traded to the Colorado Avalanche . " < br > " * * * Later traded to the Los Angeles Kings . " < br > " * * * * Later traded to the Atlanta Thrashers . " Draft picks . Edmonton ' s draft picks at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft