The Anatomy of a Moment: Cam Ward Hits the Jackpot in Vegas, Wins His 300th Game
In their first visit to Las Vegas, the Hurricanes pulled out a victory to help their franchise goalie reach another milestone by winning his 300th game.
A Lucky Bounce to Start
While the story of the night was the franchise mainstay, the offense came from a few unsuspecting new guys, both of whom were technically former Golden Knights. Marcus Kruger spent the early part of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, winning the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015 after being drafted in 2009. Kruger was a Golden Knight for two days in early July before Vegas traded him to Carolina for a fifth-round pick.
Kruger had never been a dynamic offensive player, topping at nine goals in 2011-12 and 28 points in 2013-14. His start with the Hurricanes hadn't been very productive either. Through 28 games, Kruger had yet to find the back of the net, contributing four assists before the game in Vegas. That night, he would finally catch a break.
We often see defensemen hold the puck behind the net as the rest of their team sets up before passing it up the ice. This time, Brayden McNabb made a terrible miscalculation. Kruger stuck his stick out at the perfect time to deflect McNabb's pass past an unsuspecting Marc-Andre Fleury to break the ice late in the first period with his first goal as a Hurricane. Fleury didn't stand a chance in trying to interrupt this unbelievable bounce.
Vegas Fights Back in the Second
The Golden Knights didn't waste any time in the second period getting back even. David Perron came into the zone with speed before turning around and finding Vegas native Deryk Engelland at the point. The defenseman snapped his shot through traffic to beat Cam Ward, catching iron before finding the back of the net.
The Hurricanes' response was also swift, coming from another unlikely source. Like Marcus Kruger, Trevor van Riemsdyk was a former Blackhawk who was part of their 2015 Stanley Cup team. van Riemsdyk was selected in the Expansion Draft by Vegas but was with the team for less than 24 hours before being traded to the Canes with a late-round pick for a second-round pick in 2017.
His start with the Hurricanes was also slow, but things had started to turn around on this road trip for van Riemsdyk. In his last three games, van Riemsdyk had three assists, including a two-assist performance the night before in Anaheim. After Marc-Andre Fleury made a great pad stop on Jeff Skinner, the Canes forward found van Riemsdyk, who lifted a tough-angle shot into the net to get his first goal in the red and white.
Vegas found the answer again with a little over seven minutes left in the period. Colin Miller made a beautiful stretch pass to spring Reilly Smith for a breakaway. Smith buried his chance past Cam Ward's blocker to even it up. This would be the final goal of regulation, as both sides failed to convert in the third period before playing through a scoreless overtime.
Everything Comes Full Circle
Going for his 300th win in a shootout would be a very fitting way for Cam Ward to get the job done, especially since his first career win in 2005 came in the first shootout in franchise history. New to the game after the lockout, the Hurricanes' home opener for the 2005-06 season came against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After battling to a 2-2 tie through 3+ periods, Ward faced a Pittsburgh trio comprised of Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux and Ziggy Palffy and rookie sensation Sidney Crosby. Ward stopped them all, getting a shootout goal from Cory Stillman to secure the first of many wins in his career.
Twelve years later, Ward was back in the skills competition, trying to complete another milestone. First for the Golden Knights was Alex Tuch, who sent his shot high to the glove side. Sebastian Aho came out first for the Canes, sending his shot high as well. In the second round, David Perron stepped up for Vegas but became the third shooter to miss the net. The first save of the shootout came when Marc-Andre Fleury denied Jaccob Slavin with his glove.
Reilly Smith was the first to score, working past a poke check from Ward to score on his backhand to put the Canes on the brink. The game was on Brock McGinn's stick and the moment wasn't too big for him. McGinn got Fleury wobbling before scoring under the goalie's blocker to force a fourth round. Cam Ward got his stick on Erik Haula's chance in the fourth round, and Fleury shooed Justin Faulk's chance away to extend it once more.
In the fifth round, Ward and the Hurricanes caught another break. Jonathan Marchessault had Ward dead to rights but put his shot off the glove-side post to push the Canes to the edge of victory. Phil Di Giuseppe took the attempt for the Hurricanes and it would prove to be the dagger. Di Giuseppe, who had played sparingly early in the season, caught Fleury guessing, beating him with a deke to his backhand to seal Ward's 300th victory. The team jumped off the bench to celebrate their goalie, who'd become the 32nd in league history to reach 300 wins.
The Aftermath
The 2017-18 season would be Cam Ward's final with the Hurricanes. During the following offseason, Ward would venture outside of Raleigh by signing a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. Ward would make his return to PNC Arena in mid-November, making 37 stops in a 3-2 overtime loss after Sebastian Aho scored the game-winner early in the extra frame. Ward would retire at the end of the 2018-19 season at 34 years old. Ward finished his time with the Hurricanes with 318 wins, almost 200 more wins than the next closest goalie.
Marcus Kruger's time with the Hurricanes wouldn't last much longer. He was placed on injured reserve in January before being waived a month later and finishing the season in the AHL. Kruger was traded twice during the offseason. The Canes sent him to Arizona in the trade that landed them Jordan Martinook. Two months later, Kruger was part of a deal back to Chicago, where he'd play his final NHL season in 2018-19.
Trevor van Riemsdyk stuck around a little longer, playing three seasons with the Hurricanes. He was part of the team that broke the playoff drought the following season and the bubble team in 2019-20. van Riemsdyk walked at the end of his third season in Raleigh, signing with division rival Washington, where he has remained for the last four seasons.
The Hurricanes organization would honor Cam Ward as the inaugural inductee into the Hurricanes Hall of Fame. Fittingly, his induction ceremony would come two nights before the outdoor game in 2023 against the Montreal Canadiens, the team he beat in the quarterfinal round in 2006 to kickstart his Conn Smythe-winning performance. Behind Seth Jarvis' first-career hat trick, the Hurricanes defeated the Canadiens, 6-2.