Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Bruins still have no answer for the Hurricanes

Cam Ward

Carolina Hurricanes’ Cam Ward (30) grimaces after blocking a high shot in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Friday, Nov. 26, 2010, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

AP

To most teams, the Boston Bruins are an uncontrollable hockey locomotive. That train seems to hit a wall Wile E. Coyote-style when they face the modest Carolina Hurricanes, however, as their 3-0 shutout gives the lowly team a sweep of the defending champions.

(That’s the first time the Canes swept the Bruins in their franchise history - and that includes the Hartford Whalers era.)

Immediately after the sweep, my first instinct was to say that perhaps the Hurricanes’ traditional attacking style explains why the Bruins struggle so much against Carolina. Looking at the numbers, however, the catalyst for the sweep and the driving force behind Thursday’s game is the same:

The Bruins have no answer for Cam Ward.

The one-time Stanley Cup winner won all four of those games this season, but he really put an exclamation point on that sweep with a 47-save shutout tonight.

Looking at his split stats, Ward has only allowed five goals in those four games against the Bruins, turning aside a stunning 139 out of 144 shots. The Bruins sent 47, 35, 42 and 28 shots in those games but couldn’t even manage a single standings point as every game ended in regulation.

Bigger picture view

Ultimately, this season series only changes so much, but it does bump the Bruins down and give the Canes a little bit to build on. Boston has actually been stumbling a bit in general lately, going 5-4-1 in its last 10 games. Carolina is tied for last place in the East with 47 points and only has 29 contests remaining, so it’s very much a long shot, but the Canes have made some crazy runs before.

If nothing else, they can hang their hats on dominating one of the NHL’s most dominating teams in 2011-12.