After the Canes' 2-1 overtime loss Tuesday in Toronto, Kirk Muller said it was the best game that goalie Cam Ward had played since he took over as coach.
Two nights later, Muller changed his mind.
"That's No. 2. Tonight's No. 1," Muller said Thursday after the Canes' 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the RBC Center. "It's a gutsy performance by him battling through all this stuff."
The "stuff" was being pulled last week in road games in Calgary and Winnipeg. But he rebounded with a strong game against the Leafs, making 36 saves, and had 33 against the Canucks.
Ward's biggest moment came with a little more than six minutes left in the third and the Canes leading 4-3. The Canucks' Keith Ballard was looking at an open net, but Ward made a sprawling glove stop.
"Just pure desperation," Ward said. "I guess just a matter of not giving up on the puck."
Drayson Bowman's second goal of the game, and power-play goal by Jaroslav Spacek gave the Canes a 4-2 lead in the third period.
Bowman's goal came after Brandon Sutter got the puck out of the defensive zone. Chad LaRose chased after the puck and made a crisp cross-ice pass to Bowman in the right circle.
Spacek then scored his first as a Hurricane. With the Canes (10-18-5) on a power play after a holding call against Keith Ballard, there was a delayed penalty against the Canucks, but Spacek ripped a shot from the slot for a 4-2 lead.
Alex Burrows scored with 11:20 left in the third to pull the Canucks within 4-3.
Bowman, who was recalled from the Charlotte Checkers on Dec. 12, and Tuomo Ruutu scored in the final 4:08 of the second period to give the Canes a 2-2 tie with the Canucks.
Bowman nearly finished off his first hat trick four minutes into the third, but Cory Schneider managed to snag Bowman's backhand on a breakaway.
The Canucks had moved to a 2-0 lead in the second on Mason Raymond's goal. Henrik Sedin notched his 700th career point on a centering pass to Raymond, who outbattled Eric Staal to score his second goal of the season.
But the Canes finally beat Schneider when Anthony Stewart zipped a pass in front to Bowman, who banged in the puck with 4:08 left in the second. It was Bowman's first goal since April 6, 2010 against Tampa Bay.
Ruutu then got a piece of a Bryan Allen shot from the point with 51.6 seconds left in the second. It was Ruutu's 10th goal of the season.
The Canucks struck early in the game on Kevin Bieksa's goal to take a 1-0 lead after the first period.
Bieksa scored his third of the season on a shot from the point at 5:19 as Jannik Hansen screened Canes goalie Cam Ward.
Both teams are playing without their top scorers. The Canes' Jeff Skinner is out indefinitely with a concussion and the Canucks' Daniel Sedin -- who had one more point than his twin brother entering the game -- was a late scratch with a back problem.
The Canes had three power plays and a 15-9 shooting edge in the first but couldn't beat Schneider. On the second power play, Schneider lost his paddle during a scrum in front of the crease but kept Tuomo Ruutu from scoring with his right pad.
A line brawl broke out at 7:33 of the first, with everyone but the goalies quickly engaged. It started with the Canucks' Keith Ballard face-washing Jussi Jokinen in front of the net, then escalated as everyone paired off.
The biggest encounter was the Canes' Bryan Allen and Vancouver's Aaron Rome in the heavyweight bout. Both got in shots but Allen, a former Canuck, landed the last big blow as Rome went down.
Allen and Rome received fighting majors. The Canucks' Ballard and Manny Malhotra were penalized for roughing, and Ruutu for roughing, putting the Canes on their first power play.
Forward Drayson Bowman had an active first period, getting four of the Canes' 15 shots on goal. The Canes had 19 shots total in the 2-1 overtime loss Tuesday against the Leafs.
The Canes went into the game 0-11-0 when trailing after the first period and 0-6-2 when tied after two periods.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
Our guys answered the bell
Fri, 12/16/2011 - 11:06 — SkylinerOur guys answered the bell in grand fashion last night, demonstrating a dogged deterrmination to battle wire-to-wire to defeat a team that is much stronger on paper.This was the best account the team has given of itself in a long spell and it was a collective achievement with most everyone contributing.
What else can be said about the efforts of such players as Spacek, Ruutu and young Bowman who came within a whisker of getting the trick. And Cam Ward...that guy goes to war each game and in my opinion deservesd hazarous duty pay.
But what should be an overiding concern of everyone was overlooked by a referee last night when Bieska hit Ruutu right in front of a ref and there was no call...a head hit at that.
The league has simply got to stop "head-hunting thuggery".. too many concussions resulting from cheap shots. Only today we read that Chris Pronger is gone for the season because of a hit he took recently and Marc Savard's career may well be over because of a similar improper hit.
Our own Skinner and Pitkanen are out for an undetermined time with concussions with the number of hockey concussions growing. Suspending the guy who hit Ponikarovsky 8 games represents a mere wrist slap to these multi-million dollar players and most evereyone knows who they are and who they play for. Private citizens would surely face hard time if they exgaged in such behavior in a street fight, but the league seems to make only a pretense at punishing something that appears to represent a public mugging.
The severity of a neurological injury can mask itself for an extended interval ranging from days to years. It is the league's responsibility to protect players from such physical insults and the job of the refs to enforce rules of the game. Let's hope those with policing powers can do a better job of protecting players and punishing the guilty.
Congrats and keep it going Canes.
Pronger
Fri, 12/16/2011 - 12:03 — CanarseDon't cry for Pronger. He dished out way more ugly hits than he ever took.
Great Game
Fri, 12/16/2011 - 07:23 — ammy144I gave my tickets to last nights game to my grandson who had just finished his college exams. He and his friends went and thanks to a great effort by our beloved Canes, I am now the most popular grandmother around!! It was a great game to watch (even on TV) and I look forward to more of the same. I like our new coach....he seems so upbeat and I like the fact that he is playing our young ones from Charlotte in more proper roles...thus, giving them every opportunity to show what they can do. It has been an interesting year so far but it is getting better this every game. Go Canes!!
You know that when...
Thu, 12/15/2011 - 23:55 — louis12580you don't notice someone they're usually doing the job and doing it correctly. Jaro Spacek, anyone? He and Faulk played a solid game tonight. A good person to learn the position from. The other thing I did notice was to zero minutes of ice time for Joslin in the third period. I looked at him on the bench and he did not look happy. On to Florida for, hopefully, some payback from the last game here.
P.S. How the referee missed that roundhouse right by Bieksa on Ruutuin the last minute is beyond belief.
Bieksa...the jerk!
Fri, 12/16/2011 - 09:28 — Caniac5I was at the game, seating in section 124, row S, and Bieksa's hit on Ruutu was totally uncalled for AND right in front of the referee!! Now, with this happening right in front of section 125, I had a pretty good view of the act, not as good as the ref. but, and that ref. must have been blind!!! To me it looked like an elbow being thrown against Ruutu's head! Regardless, I hope Shanahan takes a look at this hit and makes a call.
This was the best looking game the Canes have had all year! They were physical in the offensive zone and the passing was amazing! Cam played and awesome game too and some of his saves were spectiacular!
One area of work, to me, is in the defensive zone. Too many times the Canucks had time to stand still and look for passes or shots. When a players stops moving, the defense needs to go in stick first trying to disrupt any kind of setup. I am not saying charge the guy but at least get close enough to get your stick in their way. Allen had a great fight and made the Canucks step back and rethink bullying us!
GREAT GAME CANES!!!!!
good job tonight
Thu, 12/15/2011 - 22:53 — gmwannabeeI enjoyed watching this game. I like seeing some of the players who were in the doghouse with maurice getting their chance with muller. Bowman, Joslin, McBain for example. I actually think Spacek was a good pick up for this team instead of looking at it as a salary dump. Great effort. With Skinner out, we need finishers and one on one players. Bowman can finish.