What a crazy series this has been.

My analogy is a championship fight between two boxers. One smacks the other so hard, you want to hold a mirror over the poor guy's mouth, let alone hold a 10-count. But despite the shot, he somehow gets up off the canvas and finds it within himself to take the fight back to the other guy.

At some point, however, someone's will gets broken. At some point, someone says, "no mas." That point in time is at hand for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Oilers won 4-0 on Saturday night. There was no area of the game where they didn't dominate. In addition, none of the goals they scored were garbage-y or flukes.

While the 'Canes players looked despondent after the overtime loss to the Oil on Wednesday, they looked defeated after this shellacking.

The 'Canes' Peter Laviolette is a fine coach, and his job now is to convince his players they can still win this thing.

Remember my boxing analogy: These guys are still capable of raising themselves off the canvas. And remember, I thought the Oilers looked done after last Monday's 2-1 loss in Game 4.

Here's what Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said after Saturday night's game, according to a globeandmail.com article:

“When we got beat 5-0 in Game 2, it's an embarrassment at times,” said MacTavish, “but we shook it off quickly and were able to respond. They're not here because they're wallflowers. They'll come out with their best effort of the playoffs. I don't think there'll be a residual effect going into the game; it may be a positive for them.”

One thing working against the 'Canes might be fatigue. The Oilers had an eight-day layoff before this series, and the benefits of that might be starting to accrue now.

In addition, many key members of the 'Canes lineup -- Rod Brind'Amour, Glen Wesley, Cory Stillman, Ray Whitney, to name a few -- are getting up there. And the Oilers have been bashing the 'Canes like the proverbial pinata.

The Oilers' comparable vets still seem to have a spring in their stride.

So while a 'Canes win at home in Raleigh on Monday night wouldn't shock me, I'm expecting the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup that night, their first in 16 years and to become the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to rally from a 3-1 deficit.