Hurricanes' smooth run takes them to brink of Cup

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes seem to have everything going their way at the Stanley Cup finals.

They've got a hot goaltender. They've got a commanding lead in the series. They've got a chance to hoist the cup at home tonight with one more win in front of their rabid fans.

Their long flight back to Carolina for Game 5? Right on time, of course.

Then there's the Edmonton Oilers. They're faced with a daunting 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series. They're running out of time to fix a power play that can't seem to do anything right. They're going to have win two games in Raleigh to pull off a virtually unprecedented comeback.

And their long flight to Carolina for Game 5? Well, the aircraft had mechanical problems, which forced the Oilers to sit around in Edmonton for an extra 2 1/2 hours and pushed back their arrival on Tobacco Road to early evening.

Yep, everything seems to be going Carolina's way.