EDMONTON -- Even in defeat, Carolina goalie Cam Ward continues to amaze.
Ward, playing as an NHL goalie for the first time in his hometown, was sparkling in Game 3, making 28 saves in a 2-1 loss that was decided on Ryan Smyth's goal with just 2:15 left in the contest. Smyth, crashing the net after an Ales Hemsky shot, saw the rebound bang off his body and careen into the net as he barreled into Ward. Obviously, the young Carolina goalie had no chance on the play.
Ward, who grew up in nearby Sherwood Park and was an Oiler fan throughout his childhood, was also burned just 2:31 into the game when Shawn Horcoff tipped a shot past him for a quick 1-0 lead that held up until Rod Brind'Amour's third-period tally tied the game.
But, between those goals, Ward was once again sensational, playing like the goalie that turned in a shutout in Game 2.
"He's great, he kept us in there," Brind'Amour said. "I can't say enough about him. He's just been stellar back there."
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Schedule / Links:
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| Gm. 1: CAR 5, EDM 4 | Photos |
| Gm. 2: CAR 5, EDM 0 | Photos |
| Gm. 3: EDM 2, CAR 1 | Photos |
Gm. 4: June 12, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
Gm. 5: June 14, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
*Gm. 6: June 17, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
*Gm. 7: June 19, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
| *if necessary |
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For long stretches, Ward held the fort while Carolina struggled to find its way against a defensively rejuvenated Edmonton defense. After allowing 10 goals in the past five periods before Saturday, the Oilers allowed just one goal in Game 3, a rebound by Brind'Amour of a blocked shot by Oiler defenseman Jason Smith.
The goalie never showed the nerves that Edmonton was banking on manifesting themselves in such a hostile environment.
"Personal pressure doesn't really seem to affect him," Laviolette said. "He played extremely well for us again. You can't fault him on either (goal). The first goal was a redirect and the second one he wasn't allowed to make the save."
Still Ward would have liked to walk away with a victory in his debut at Rexall Place.
"I'm disappointed with the way it ended and we will do the best that we can to prepare for Game 4.
At least, Ward knows that he is already blooded Now and can handle what ever either the Oiler players or the team's crowd throw at him. His ability to hold his team in for so long Saturday night after the early goal has only bolstered an already healthy confidence.
"That's how you have to respond to those situations," Ward said. "I thought we responded well. I didn't let it affect me. But, it was tough getting down that early. A big part of our game plan was to come out with a strong start. It wasn't easy playing from behind that quick."
Yet, Ward almost made it work, just like he has made everything else work this postseason.
Shuffling the deck -- For the second-straight game, both teams made minor changes to their respective
lineups.
Edmonton, looking for more offense, replaced struggling young defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron with veteran defenseman Dick Tarnstrom for Game 3. Tarnstrom had played seven games earlier in these playoffs, without
scoring a point, but had yet to appear in the Stanley Cup Final before Saturday night.
Tarnstrom was used extensively on the point in an attempt to revive Edmonton's dormant power play. In all, Tarnstrom played a respectable 15 minutes and 49 seconds, including more than four minutes on the power play. He finished the night with an even rating, registered one shot and blocked another.
Carolina, meanwhile, went back to its Game 1 lineup, returning Chad LaRose to the lineup in place of Oleg
Tverdovsky, who dressed as a seventh defenseman in Game 2. Tverdovsky played very limited minutes in that Wednesday night game, registering just two minutes and 20 seconds -- all in the third period after the game was already decided.
LaRose, who handles penalty-killing duties, had played the first 19 games of the playoffs before sitting out in Game 2. He recorded his first point of the playoffs, an assist, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Saturday, LaRose played a team-low 5:10, including just 3:17 of even-strength ice time. He was on the ice for Horcoff's game-opening goal and finished a minus-1.
Block party -- One of the most telling stats in Carolina's lopsided Game 2 victory was the disparity in blocked shots.
Carolina put bodies in front of 24 shooting attempts by Edmonton in Game 2, while the Oilers blocked just seven shot attempts off the sticks of Carolina players. In Game 1, defenseman Glen Wesley placed his body in harm's way to block a pair of point shots from Edmonton's defenseman Jaroslav Spacek during a 5-on-3 man-disadvantage late in the first period. Those heroics helped keep the game close and proved to be part of the foundation on which Carolina built its amazing come-from-behind victory.
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"You can only do so much in front of the net. So, if you can't take the forward out of the way of the goaltender, the goaltender can't see the puck and you better do something." -- Carolina's
Mike Commodore
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According to Carolina defenseman Mike Commodore, the Hurricanes' reliance on blocking shots has far less to do with bravery than it has to do with expediency under the new rules interpretation this season that has alleviated much of the interference and obstruction that was part and parcel of the old NHL.
Blocking shots is so much more important than in the past because, I think, it is a direct result of the new rules," Commodore said. "Before, as a defenseman, and there's a shot coming in from the point, or whatever, as soon as you think that shot's going to come, you could just crosscheck that forward out of the way and the goalie can see the puck and you could just let the goalie make the save.
"Now, you can't get away with that all the time. You can't just pitchfork a guy out of the way and let the goalie see the puck. You can only do so much in front of the net. So, if you can't take the forward out of the way of the goaltender, the goaltender can't see the puck and you better do something."
That something is selflessly hurling one's body into the path of the oncoming rubber disc flying toward goal," says Commodore, who freely admits to employing the more cynical obstructionist tact in the past.
"The next best option is to get in front of the puck and don't let the puck get through," he said. "We just try to get in the shooting lanes. If you get in the shooting lanes, chances are the puck is going to hit you."
That happened regularly in Game 2, much to the dismay of Edmonton's frustrated attackers. On the eve of Game 3, the Oilers insisted it would be a different story going forward.
"We've got to find ways to exploit their weaknesses," said Ryan Smyth, an Edmonton forward. "Obviously, there's not a lot there, but there are some and we've gone back to the drawing board to find a way through it."
And things were very different Saturday night. Carolina blocked just 15 shots in the game as Edmonton did a better job of moving the puck around and finding different angles of attack. Edmonton finished the game with 13 blocked shots.
Miracle in the making? -- Friday, speculation that Edmonton goalie Dwayne Roloson, who sprained the MCL in his right knee in Game 1, could return before this series was over was running rampant.
Whispers that Roloson was being fitted for a brace for the knee that would allow him to return to the ice grew louder as Friday progressed. They reached a crescendo when Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish did not dismiss such observations out of hand.
"It's doubtful," MacTavish said when asked about Roloson's return. "I guess there is always a chance. If he were a defenseman or a forward, there would be a pretty good likelihood, but being a butterfly goalie, it makes that movement that much more difficult."
Notice there wasn't a definitive "no" in that statement? Reporters certainly did. But, the potential front-page story did not live to see the afternoon.
Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe admitted Roloson was being fitted for a brace, but it was merely a precaution to keep the joint stabilized and reduce the pressure on the affected ligament. It was not a last-ditch attempt to get the No. 1 goalie back on the ice.
"The ligament has to mend," Lowe told reporters Friday afternoon. "If you rush him back, get him playing, what's it going to do to that knee, to his career? That knee needs to heal and get strong. He'll be in a brace for three weeks."
That means that backup Jussi Markkanen, the starter again in Saturday's Game 3 after losing Game 2, 5-0, will have to hold the fort for as long as Edmonton can stay alive in this series.
Enemy mine -- Today Doug Weight and Cory Stillman are teammates with the Carolina Hurricanes, each playing a huge role in leading the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final. A decade ago, things were not quite as rosy between the two players.
At that time, Weight was enjoying his run as a fan favorite in Edmonton and Stillman was a member of the Calgary Flames, the Oilers' closest NHL neighbor and blood rival. During one memorable "Battle of Alberta" the two forwards found themselves squaring off in a fight at center ice.
That showdown might have been forgotten, if not for a fan at the Carolina hotel in Edmonton that handed Weight a picture of the tussle.
"In the hotel (Friday), a guy gave me a picture of me and 'Stilly' fighting at center ice in '95 or '96," Weight said. "We saw a lot of each other (back then). We reminisce a lot. He thinks he won the fight, but I know I won the fight."
Not according to Stillman.
"I have a different picture than the one he received, that's for sure," Stillman said, flashing a sly grin.
