Hurricanes 4, Devils 2
Cam Ward became the first goaltender to score in nearly six years Monday night, credited with a rare tally in the Carolina Hurricanes' 4-2 home victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Ward hit the scoresheet when a pass from
New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk went the length of the ice and into an empty
net.
It was the first goal by a netminder since Chris Mason
tallied for Nashville in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes on April 25,
2006.
Brandon Sutter, Tuomo Ruutu and Anthony Stewart also tallied, Tim Brent notched two assists and Ward made 23 saves for the Hurricanes, who improved to 3-1-2 in their last six games and 4-6-2 under new coach Kirk Muller.
With Carolina down a man, Sutter opened the scoring midway through the first period, beating Johan Hedberg with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle during a 2-on-1 rush. It was the league-worst 11th shorthanded tally allowed by the Devils this season.
Ruutu doubled the lead seven minutes into the second and Stewart ripped a shot past Hedberg from the left circle just over 10 minutes later for a 3-0 advantage.
David Clarkson spoiled Ward's shutout bid with less than 7 1/2 minutes remaining and Adam Henrique cut New Jersey's deficit to one with 2:20 to play.
But an errant pass by Kovalchuk in the final minute slid the length of the ice untouched into the Devils' net, giving Ward his first career goal and clinching the win for the Hurricanes.
Hedberg stopped 30 shots for New Jersey, which had its four-game road winning streak snapped. The Devils have lost eight of their last 11 visits to the RBC Center.