Canes' grittiness impressed Ward

Aaron Ward had a look at the Hurricanes from the other side in last year's Stanley Cup playoffs.

A defenseman for the Boston Bruins, Ward believed the B's were good enough, strong enough to win the Cup. The Bruins were the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, only to be beaten by the Canes in the conference semifinals.

His impression of the Canes?

"Gritty," Ward said this week. "They were steadfast in the way they played the game. They were very, very smart.

"We didn't take them lightly. We knew we were up against a solid opponent. I didn't think the first game (4-1 Boston win) was indicative of how the series was going to go.

"They were stingy, in every zone. It's hard to play against a team like that. As much as we tried to impose our will with our physicality, there was no part of them that was intimidated by it. In fact, if was oftentimes used against us."

In retrospect, did the B's feel more pressure in Game 7, playing at home and as the conference's top seed?

"No, I don't think you can weigh the pressure gauge for either team," Ward said. "You're both in the same position. It's Game 7. We'd come back from 3-1 down (in the series). It was in our building.

"There were so many factors in everybody's column when you start checking who should be and who shouldn't be. We had put ourselves in the position of playing a Game 7, but there was the pressure of playing at home and the expectation of us having won the conference -- the expectation of moving on."

The B's season ended in Game 7 and the Canes lost out in the conference finals against the Penguins. Now, Ward is back with the Hurricanes. Can the Canes go deeper in the playoffs this season?

"People, when I go golfing or at the pool or whatever, keep asking me what I think," Ward said. "But it's tough for an outsider looking in.

"I know what's here but I'm not familiar with the intangibles that are in the locker room. Oftentimes, when people prognosticate who's going to do what in the conference, there's not analysis of the chemistry. How do they know how well that team will jell in the locker room and how well the personalities will mesh?

"Even though I was here from 2001 to 2006, I still have to take the approach I'm on a learning scale right now. I've got to figure out who's who and what makes players tick."