Hurricanes’ Ward Is Calm Amid the Storm

Cam Ward has a lot on his mind.

For one, the Carolina Hurricanes goaltender is getting married on July 22. After that, he and his bride will move into a new home in Sherwood Park, the Edmonton suburb in which he grew up.

Then there’s that big silver trophy his name will be etched upon if the Hurricanes win two more games from the Oilers, the team he rooted for as a youngster sitting with his dad in Section 114 of the arena now known as Rexall Place.

With Ward unflappable in net, the Hurricanes won the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals. The series will resume on Saturday in Edmonton, where the 20 friends and relatives who got tickets from Ward will be an oasis in a sea of boisterous Oilers fans.

“It is going to be exciting. It is different walking in here knowing that you’re going to be on the ice, not in the stands,” Ward said Thursday, his awe undiminished by the din of technicians stringing cables and moving gear in an ice-level interview room.

“But as tough as it may seem, you’ve got to treat it like any other game. We’ve got a job to finish. Obviously, there’s a lot of history here. It’s an honor being able to play on this ice. But you just don’t overthink it. You’re home, but you’ve got to treat it like any other road game and stick with the same routine that we’ve been successful with.”

This is the second professional season for Ward, who joked in his blog on the team’s website that he’s merely 5 1/2 years old because he was born on Leap Day, 1984. The Hurricanes chose him 25th overall in the 2002 entry draft, impressed with the sharp reflexes and quick glove that remain his hallmarks.

He might have been Carolina’s backup goalie last season if not for the lockout. Instead he played against a talent-stocked American Hockey League, where he compiled an eye-catching 1.99 goals-against average in 50 games.

Ward backed up the resurgent Martin Gerber most of this season and played 28 games, to Gerber’s 60. However, after a flu-ridden Gerber faltered in the first two games of Carolina’s first-round series against Montreal, Ward stepped in to spark a rally that closed out the series in six games. Carolina went on to win its next three games, as Ward became only the second goaltender in NHL history to win his first seven playoff starts.

“He didn’t play all that much this year, but in practice and all the games he plays, you could see that he’s fundamentally sound,” teammate Rod Brind’Amour said. “That’s why he’s going to have a good future.

“He’s not a flash in the pan, a guy that’s just getting hot now. He’s got all the tools, and if you watch the way he plays, you know he’s a guy that’s going to be around for a long time.”

Ward finished off the Hurricanes’ five-game victory over the New Jersey Devils and started six of seven games against Buffalo in the Eastern Conference finals. In the Cup finals, he made 34 saves in Carolina’s 5-4 victory on Monday and 25 saves in a 5-0 rout in Game 2.

Certainly, the Hurricanes benefited from some lucky bounces in the first game, and his teammates protected him zealously Wednesday by blocking 24 shots. But if Ward feeds off their work ethic, they also take cues from him.

“Nothing fazes him,” Brind’Amour said. “I know I’d be a basket case if I was in there. He’s just, ‘Whatever. It’s another day.’ And that’s how you’ve got to be.”

The Oilers said they can beat Ward if they get more traffic in front of the net for screens and deflections, a common strategy.

“We’re not getting pucks in spots that we know we have to put them to score,” center Michael Peca said. “Granted, he’s making great saves at the times we are putting the puck where we want to, but we’ve got to do a better job.

“In Game 1 he made some great saves, but we scored four goals on him and we feel we have the ability to score on him.”

That possibility isn’t on Ward’s mind. “I feel really comfortable and confident, and that’s a reflection of a team that played great in Game 2,” he said. “We know that Edmonton is not going to give up. They’re going to be ready for us in Game 3 and we’ve got to be able to match it.”