Aaron Ward Articles - Frisky Ward put best foot forward

Frisky Ward put best foot forward

January 11, 2008

Source: Barbara Matson, Globe Staff | Boston Globe

Aaron Ward said he was as nervous as a rookie before last night's game at TD Banknorth Garden. The veteran Bruins defenseman hadn't played since Dec. 20, missing eight games with a broken left foot. And for his return to the lineup, the sputtering Bruins faced the Montreal Canadiens, not only a bitter rival, but a team that had beaten Boston in seven straight games, including all four this season.

"I told Andrew Ference before the game, 'I'm going to keep it simple,' " said Ward.

As it turned out, Ward looked more comfortable than most of his teammates.

Ward settled into the flow alongside defense partner Ference seamlessly.

Even as many of the Bruins skittered about the rink, chasing the play, Ward turned in a steady, dependable effort in the 5-2 loss, logging 18 minutes 26 seconds of ice time, fifth on the team after Zdeno Chara, Dennis Wideman, Ference, and Marc Savard. Ward's strong return spelled Chara and Wideman, who played 31:26 and 28:06, respectively, in the Bruins' 1-0 loss to Carolina Tuesday.

Though he is a week shy of his 35th birthday, Ward was a breath of fresh air - and his coach agreed.

"I thought Aaron handled himself extremely well," said Claude Julien. "For a guy who hasn't played since Christmas, I thought he competed hard and played well. I thought he had a good game."

Afterward, Ward had an ice pack strapped to his right arm - just a souvenir of the game - but said his foot was OK. "I'm old - it all hurts," he said with a shrug. "No, it's fine."

Ward said he also survived a physical test in Wednesday's practice, when Julien kept the pucks on the bench and simply skated the team hard for 30 minutes, an effort to impress on his players the effort that was lacking in Tuesday's effort.

"It's a work in progress," said Julien. "We have some guys who have to get better."

Ward knew what Julien was looking for. "It's simple to say that we talked about it before the game," he said. "There was a discussion on discipline and it's discipline in your systems and discipline in not taking penalties. They've got such an effective power play, tops in the league right now. We can't allow a road team to come in here and get the jump on us."

Julien wanted a disciplined effort, but instead, the Bruins drew four penalties in the first period, and Montreal emerged with a 2-0 lead. Alex Kovalev's power-play goal midway through the second nearly sealed the deal, as it seemed the only way a Bruin was going to get on the Jumbotron scoreboard was to put a foam puck on his head and dance.

But then Ward used the end boards and the back of goalie Cristobal Huet's left skate to score his third goal of the season at 14:41, his shot from the blue line bouncing back in front of the net and hitting Huet's skate. A funny goal, but perhaps a just reward.

Milan Lucic brought Boston within 3-2 at 2:01 of the third, but then the bits and pieces of the game plan the Bruins had forged began to come apart.

"It seemed like we came out in the third period and had the momentum going our way, too," said Ward. "But again, they're a pretty patient team, and when they get their opportunities, they are potent. They're right there, putting pucks in the net at the right time; they just capitalize on every available opportunity."

Montreal fourth-liner Mathieu Dandenault jumped on a pair of Boston misplays for his third career two-goal game. The disappointment was thick in the silent Bruins locker room, and etched in the lines on Ward's face.

"If anything, as men we need to face reality and look at ourselves in the mirror and realize that the performance isn't becoming of the Boston Bruins," he said. "I still think there's room for improvement. You don't want to indict yourself, and the effort was different than it was [Tuesday]. But discipline takes a lot of concentration.

"This team's resilient. It's just a matter of getting all the components working."

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