Ward turned away 33 Bruins shots in a 4-1 Carolina win, Ward and the Hurricanes’ second win in six days against the Bruins. The most lasting moment from Wards’ night, though, may have been his showdowns with Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara and goalie Tuukka Rask.
With just under six minutes to play in the second period, Nathan Horton and Carolina’s Jay Harrison got tangled up in front of the net. Chara apparently took exception to Harrison’s action and stepped in.
Check it out below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARKjHv7CY20&w=640&h=360]
Ward obviously took exception to Chara’s involvement in the scrum, and the goalie explained that following the win.
“The guy’s 8 feet tall, and he’s jumping a player. That doesn’t translate as being very tough in my eyes,” Ward told reporters after the game. “I’m emotional just like everybody else. When you see that happening to your own players, you wanna … you know, I had some choice words, too, but it is what it is.”
Give Ward credit, though. He’s not dumb.
“It’s probably a good thing that I’m a goalie and I’ve got full gear so nothing’s gonna hurt me,” he added.
The conversation between Ward and Chara prompted Rask to skate the length of the ice to have a conversation with Ward. The Carolina netminder also revealed the nature of that conversation after the game.
“I was surprised, but I didn’t take it as a serious threat, so you know, it is what it is. I don’t even know what was said. My heart rate didn’t get up or anything. Basically, I told him to get down and back into his own net … and he did.”
Those weren’t even Ward’s most eye-catching quotes, either. According to Hurricanes.com writer Michael Smith, Ward had a pretty stern assessment of the situation when talking to FS Carolina’s Bob Harwood.
“I’m not gonna waste my time with Tuukka Rask,” Ward reportedly said to Harwood.
Well then.
Of course, Ward is obviously forgetting how combustible Rask can be. For further proof of that, Ward should probably check this out or even this.
Ward also talked about the actual hockey that was being played between the whistles, and he may have inadvertedly summed up the where the Bruins are as a team right now.
“They’re defending Stanley Cup champions for a reason, and they have their passionate fans behind them especially in their home building,” he said. “We played the way we wanted to play. We didn’t change anything and we did what we wanted to do and it worked out for us tonight.”
