Ward comes up big as Hurricanes defeat Jets

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Wondering what Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward's been up to lately?

Be sure to check out Saturday's NHL highlights and watch the long-time Hurricanes netminder at his very best.

Battling injuries earlier in the season and being relegated to backup duty behind Anton Khudobin, Ward made the very most of his start in Winnipeg and was, undeniably, the reason Carolina left town with a 3-2 triumph over the Jets at MTS Centre.

The 30-year-old native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, registered a spectacular 34-save effort -- including a diving paddle save off center Bryan Little in the first period that's a clear-cut contender for stop of the NHL season -- for just his ninth win of the 2013-14 campaign for the Hurricanes, now 31-31-9.

The Jets, meanwhile, fell to 32-31-9.

Badly outplayed in a scoreless first period but buoyed by the brilliant play of their goalie, the Hurricanes finally got their legs after the Jets opened the scoring in the second period and potted three goals of their own to jump ahead 3-1.

Carolina got goals from centers Eric Staal, Jordan Staal and Riley Nash in less than three minutes of play to lead through 40 minutes.

Ward didn't play Friday night in Chicago as the Blackhawks eked out a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes in the first half of back-to-back games on the road.

But he took full advantage of the chance to face familiar foes in Winnipeg.

"The guys had a tough game in Chicago and I was the only guy who really got any rest. So, I knew this was my opportunity to get in the net and to be ready," said Ward.

"There were a couple of good (saves) and it makes me feel like a kid again playing street hockey. It was fun to be a part of it, and get the win. These guys play so well in their home building and they came out strong in the first 10 minutes. It was important to make some big saves to settle our guys down. We had a really strong second period, and the third was up for grabs."

Ward blocked 13 shots in the opening period, some with an extremely high degree of difficulty. A pair of brilliant saves off Little left the shifty center shaking his head as the clubs went to the dressing room scoreless.

"That one with Little, the initial shot was low to the far side and you know you were going to be kicking it right back out to the slot," he described. "And out of pure desperation, I put the paddle out there and, fortunately, got a little bit lucky to be making that save."

Ward also made a super stop off center Eric O'Dell on a wraparound try late in the first period and stopped right winger Devin Setoguchi from point-black range with less than four minutes left in the final period and the Jets pressing for the tying goal.

He also stood his ground in the dying seconds as blue-liner Dustin Byfuglien and left winger Evander Kane both swiped at loose pucks in the crease.

"He might have the TSN Top-10 covered tonight," said Nash, who banked a shot off Jets goalie Al Montoya's heel for his ninth goal of the season midway through the second period.

"He made a ton of saves that he shouldn't have made. It just shows how hard he competes and how hard he battles, and never gives up on a puck."

Winnipeg center Jim Slater, a new father after the birth of his daughter earlier in the week, tipped in a point shot at 7:48 of the first period for his first goal of the season.

But just 37 seconds later, Eric Staal ripped his 17th goal of the year. His younger brother, Jordan, scored a breakaway goal on the power play less than two minutes later, his 15th of the year, and Nash scored a minute later.

Little scored just 1:27 into the final frame to pull the Jets to within a goal, but that's as close as they got.

Carolina head coach Kirk Muller was beaming afterward in describing the gutsy effort of his goalie.

"Our guys are happy for him. It's been a tough year with the injuries and that. But coming back here, it's a great place to see him play so well," said Muller.

"Unfortunately, it's been a pattern with our club. We don't come out of the gate very well but we get stronger as we go. The guys knew (Ward) was giving us a great effort. He was keeping us in there. And they were like, ‘hey we have to surround him with some better play.' Fortunately, we got some timely goals and we played better the rest of the game, and it was a nice team effort from everybody."

The Jets thought they tied the game at 3 with just over 12 minutes left in the final frame when defenseman Mark Stuart fired into the open side. But the goal was waved off because Byfuglien was lying across Ward's pads after some jostling in the crease.

Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice admitted he didn't care for the call.

"On the video for me, it's a good goal," said Maurice. (Byfuglien) gets tripped. His foot's in the cream, (Andrei) Loktionov comes in with his stick and foot and knocks him over. For me, it's a good goal."

Montoya stopped 29 shots in his fourth consecutive game in goal for the Jets, in place of injured starter Ondrej Pavelec.

Pavelec is expected to be available during next week's crucial five-game, eight-day southern road trip against some of the NHL's legitimate heavyweights. As the Jets fight for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, they head to Dallas to face the Stars on Monday and then visit San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim before wrapping up the trip April 1 in Phoenix.

The Hurricanes host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Maurice, who counted heavily on Ward during two stints as Carolina's bench boss, wasn't shocked by what he saw from the goalie.

"I've seen that guy in that net do that," he said. "The momentum that team feels, because he's so cared about in that locker room. He's had just a disastrous season.

"You can't say he was lucky. I've seen it before, he was spectacular. Cam Ward was the story of this hockey game. He was the best player on the ice."

NOTES: Carolina completed its 18th of 20 sets of back-to-back games this season. After a loss to Chicago on Friday, the club is 9-8-1 in the openers and 5-10-3 in the back halves. ... Winnipeg was caught with too many men on the ice twice in the game. ... Jets D Zach Bogosian, C Jim Slater and RW Dustin Byfuglien missed Wednesday's 5-4 OT victory over Colorado. But all three returned to the lineup Saturday night, prompting the club to return a pair of centers, Patrice Cormier and John Albert, to the St. John's IceCaps of the AHL. Bogosian didn't last the entire game, suffering an upper-body injury in the second period. ... Hurricanes C Manny Malhotra entered the game second in the NHL in faceoff efficiency, winning 58.9 percent of draws he'd taken. He trailed only St. Louis Blues LW Vladimir Sobotka (61.4). ... Winnipeg bench boss Paul Maurice coached the Hurricanes for 775 games during parts of 11 seasons, from 1997-98 to 2003-04 and again from 2008-09 to 2011-12. He guided them to the Stanley Cup final in 2002, losing to Detroit in five games. ... C Eric Staal is just three assists shy of 400 for his career, played entirely with Carolina.