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| B's old guards learning new tricks |
| October 17, 2007 |
| Source: By Rich Thompson | http://www.bostonherald.com |
| WILMINGTON - Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward is adjusting to a new system with the right partner. |
| The Bruins return to TD Banknorth Garden tomorrow night for the home opener against the Tampa Bay Lighting after going 3-2 on the road against the Pacific Division. Ward made the red-eye flight from California more bearable by scoring the game winner with 12 seconds remaining in Saturday night’s 2-1 victory over San Jose. |
| Ward skated 30 shifts against the Sharks and spent most of his 24 minutes paired with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. The two veterans have played in a combined 1,252 NHL games, but are relearning their position under first-year coach Claude Julien. |
| "I know how intense an individual he is and that he has expectations for his partner," said Ward after yesterday’s practice at Ristuccia Arena. "It's a good thing in the capacity that he keeps me on my toes. I think we function well." |
| Julien's new schemes are more about position than punishment, even though both Ward and Chara are accomplished physical defensemen. The Bruins protect their cage with the five skaters assigned to designated areas of the zone. For the system to work, the players must literally talk a good game. |
| "Aaron is an experienced guy, but the biggest thing is our communication on the ice," said Chara. "When we communicate everybody knows where they should be and what they should be doing. We stuck to it in the last minute against San Jose and were rewarded." |
| Ward came away from that game with a renewed conviction that, properly executed, the defensive schemes can neutralize a skilled group of skaters. The Bruins held the Sharks scoreless for more than 59 minutes. |
| "I think when you win a game 2-1 you prove something," said Ward. "Sometimes there are moments when you have to prove something through your system. You have to believe in your system, not just believe in yourself, but believe in your system. That was the situation with an arsenal like they have in San Jose." |
| Ward played an aggressive man-on-man style last season with the Rangers and brought that to Boston in a late-season trade. Julien has tried to rearrange some of Ward’s ingrained tendencies, and has been pleased with the results. |
| "We are getting a lot of work out of him and I think he’s playing really well," said Julien. "I think the biggest thing for him is adjusting to our different style of play away from that what he played for years. He still has to make those adjustments and like a good veteran he’s adjusted well. To me his game has improved a lot. He’s playing some of the best hockey I have seen from him in a long time.” |
| Ward came up through the Red Wings system and, following an offseason trade in 2001, enjoyed four productive seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. |
| "In Carolina we used a system called the playing card five," he said. "It looked like a playing card where you have five guys in front of the net. Here it is a little more passive and more positional. I would compare (it) more to zone in basketball. |
| "Where I have to make that mental change is not looking to lay (out the) body." |