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 Ward, starting for the first time since suffering a concussion Jan.
15, enjoyed the view from the crease as the Hurricanes battered the
Jets with four goals in just over 10 minutes of play. And he was
pushed to make just five saves in the opening 20 minutes as the
visitors led 4-0.
But the 31-year-old netminder was sensational in the final two
periods, even as the Jets rallied with a goal in the middle frame
and two more in the third. He finished the night with 33 saves and
was named the game's first star.
"I felt real comfortable," said Ward. "For myself, it's the first
game in a while. Getting off to a 4-0 lead in the first period
definitely helped relieve me. I was a little anxious before."
The Hurricanes placed Ward on injured reserve Jan. 20, and backup
Eddie Lack started the next six games, including a 4-1 loss to the
Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.
Carolina center Jordan Staal collected a goal, his 12th, and set up
two others. Left winger Phillip Di Guiseppe opened the scoring with
his fourth of the season, center Andrej Nestrasil scored his sixth
(and first of two on the night), while defenseman Justin Faulk
chipped in his 15th to power the visitors to a 4-0 lead after the
opening period.
Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who started for the 21st time
over the last 23 games, surrendered three goals on just six shots
before being replaced by Michael Hutchinson, who hadn't played since
Jan. 3.
Hutchinson stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced.
Jets center Alexander Burmistrov injected some energy into a
lifeless MTS Centre, scoring his fifth with 1:25 left in the second
period. Winnipeg left winger Andrew Ladd added his 12th on the power
play midway through the third to slice the lead to 4-2, and right
winger Blake Wheeler pulled the Jets within one goal with just over
six minutes left in regulation.
But Nestrasil scored his seventh on a two-on-one with Staal at 18:39
to seal the win.
Ward said after being a spectator for much of the first period, he
eagerly anticipated some real action through the final 40 minutes --
to a point.
"Maybe not that much work," he said, laughing. "When it's a 4-0 game
and you get five shots in the first period, it's a test mentally. I
thought the second period I felt real sharp despite not getting a
whole lot of work.
"You have to be able to communicate and play the puck, make good
plays, just to stay involved. My mobility, I felt, was really
strong."
Staal, who has eight points in his last six games, said the contest
was far too close for comfort.
"It would be nice to win 4-0 every night, but they did a good job of
coming back and making us work for it," he said. "We do have to
learn how to play stronger with the big lead like that and find ways
to choke teams out. We'll learn from this and keep growing as a
team."
Carolina (24-21-8) pulled within two points of a wild-card spot in
the Eastern Conference. But the Hurricanes have played more games
than the clubs they're trailing, Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Detroit.
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"We're in a position where the other teams have a few games in hand.
So, we don't have to win them all, but we have to win a lot," said
veteran defenseman Ron Hainsey.
The Jets (22-26-3) ended a dismal six-game homestand that produced a
single victory against the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 26 to go with
five defeats, all in regulation. Winnipeg is tied with the Edmonton
Oilers for last place in the Western Conference.
Ladd said the things got away from his club in a hurry Friday night.
"It just seemed like every shift they were getting a chance and the
puck was ending up in the back of our net, so it snowballed pretty
quick," said the Jets captain.
"We got going, we got our legs going, we got moving. There's no
special formula to it. We understand, or we should understand by
now, what needs to happen right from the get-go, right from the drop
of the puck, for our team to be successful and that's moving and
being strong on the puck."
Jets head coach Paul Maurice was asked whether shock, anger or
disappointment best summed up how he was feeling with his club down
3-0 at the 4:33 mark of the first period.
"You can put all of it in there," he said, adding he took some
solace in the comeback try.
"When you are at that moment and things are awful and you're
embarrassed by the way you're playing, they handled it as best they
could and did a hell of a job digging out of a hole."
NOTES: The Hurricanes were without D Brett Pesce (lower body), while
D Ryan Murphy, C Brad Malone and LW Chris Terry were healthy
scratches. ... Jets G Ondrej Pavelec (lower body) remained
sidelined, but he is due to return any day. D Adam Pardy, D Paul
Postma and RW Anthony Peluso were healthy scratches for Winnipeg.
... Coming off a 4-1 loss to the Flames on Wednesday night, Carolina
didn't practice Thursday but did take to the ice in Calgary,
reportedly enjoying a day of curling as a team-building event. ... D
Toby Enstrom, 31, played in his 595th NHL contest Friday, good for
third place on the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise's games-played list
behind only RW Chris Thorburn (613) and C Bryan Little (606).
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