As the horn sounded to end the 65 minutes of real hockey at PNC Arena on Saturday night, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward was likely flooded with dread about the shootout ahead.
Ward, whose sharp 33 saves on 35 shots during the game itself had kept the 'Canes even with the Rangers through the end of overtime, had lost eight of his last nine shootouts.
He sported the 34th-best shootout save percentage out of 42 NHL goaltenders with 50 or more career attempts faced. He was a proven liability in the skills competition.
And sure enough, specialist Mats Zuccarello skated right in and scored on a quick shot over Ward's blocker side. A save on Derek Stepan proved insignificant, as all three Carolina shooters were denied by Henrik Lundqvist (ranked second out of those 42 goalies) and Zuccarello's tally went down as the winner.
The Rangers had won the game, and Ward had now lost nine of his last 10 shootouts.
But Ward—even after 65 minutes of stellar play, even after that end-of-overtime horn sounded—didn't actually defend (or attempt to defend) the net in the shoot ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Mark Jones
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