All Brandon Sutter could do was smile, shake his head and say, "Wow."
Sutter was on the bench, admiring a replay of a nifty move by Ray Whitney that set him up for a goal, but he could just as well have been talking about the Carolina Hurricanes' play Sunday against the Boston Bruins.
The Canes won 5-1, leading 4-0 after two periods and beating the slumping Bruins in every facet of the game. That made Cam Ward the franchise leader in career victories with 131, passing Arturs Irbe, the star of the Canes' 2002 run to the Stanley Cup finals.
In a season with a number of lows, there were any number of things to like about the Canes this day at the RBC Center. Jussi Jokinen had a goal and two assists. Newly named captain Eric Staal scored another goal, and Whitney, Sutter and Chad LaRose also had goals. The defense was solid.
Carolina, referred to as the "NHL doormat" by one Boston media outlet Sunday, pushed past the Edmonton Oilers and no longer are last in the league. A small step, perhaps, but a step above being a "doormat."
As for Ward, he downplayed his record, noting, "It's pretty neat. I've been fortunate to be a part of a great organization for five years and play with some quality players. You can't do anything by yourself."
At 25, Ward now has won a Stanley Cup, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in the Canes' 2006 championship push. His superb play last season also helped the Hurricanes reach the Eastern Conference finals.
"He's our Staal on the back end," Canes coach Paul Maurice said. "He's a critical piece ... and a great franchise leader at such a young age."
The Bruins' Tim Thomas was the Vezina Trophy winner last year as the NHL's best goaltender, only to have Ward and the Canes bounced the B's out of the playoffs in the Eastern semifinals. And Thomas did not make it out of the second period Sunday as Boston took its fifth straight loss.
Whitney gave the Canes a 1-0 lead in the first, picking off a pass in the right circle of the Boston zone and beating Thomas. The Canes then took charge early in the second, forcing Bruins penalties, skating better, being more aggressive, gaining momentum.
Staal scored his fifth goal in three games on a power play, on a well-placed pass from Jokinen, and Jokinen scored just after a second power play ended for a 3-0 lead. Then, Whitney did his thing.
Taking a breakout pass from defenseman Niclas Wallin, Whitney steamed across the Boston blue line. He weaved his way between Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara, froze Thomas, forced defenseman Dennis Wideman to go low in front of the crease, then made the perfect feed to Sutter for the goal -- a now-you-see-me, now-you-don't kind of play that had Sutter shaking his head on the replay.
"He's very creative with the puck and it was pretty to watch," Sutter said.
To which Ward added, "That's why they call No. 13 the 'Wizard,' the way he put on some magic on that goal."
Whitney, in turn, credited Ward with being sharp in the first period when the rest of the team wasn't. Ward made some nice stops as it took the Canes six minutes to put a shot on goal.
"We were off to a real good start and then one bad turnover in our own end and it's in our net," Boston coach Claude Julien said of Whitney's theft and goal.
The Bruins' only score came on a third-period power play, as David Krejci banged a rebound past Ward at 8:56.
To be fair, Boston (23-20-8) was missing Marc Savard, Marco Sturm, Andrew Ference, Steve Begin and Byron Bitz, all out with injuries. It's not the same team that whipped the Canes 7-2 on Oct. 3 in Boston, in the first meeting.
"That's tough," Maurice said. "You go through an emotional deal when you have key guys out of your lineup. We've been through it."
The Hurricanes (16-28-7) are beginning to get players back. LaRose, who played his 200th game Sunday, and Sergei Samsonov recently returned to the lineup and Maurice said defenseman Joe Corvo (leg laceration) possibly could play this week.
"LaRose and Samsonov come back and we think, 'Boy, we're a lot healthier,'" Maurice said. "We feel good about it."
And certainly good about Sunday's game.
TURNING POINT
With the Hurricanes leading 1-0 early in the second period, Brandon Sutter led a rush into the Boston zone with Jiri Tlusty and forced a tripping penalty on the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron. Eric Staal scored on the power play, which led to another Boston penalty, and the Canes scored again just after that power play expired as Jussi Jokinen's goal pushed the lead to 3-0.
BURNING QUESTION
Was it the Hurricanes' best game of the season?
NUMBER TO KNOW
131. The number of career victories by Canes goaltender Cam Ward, breaking Arturs Irbe's franchise record.
THREE STARS
1. Cam Ward, Carolina. Goaltender has 27 saves in landmark win.
2. Jussi Jokinen, Carolina. Goal, two assists for under-rated forward.
3. Ray Whitney, Carolina. Goal, assist, SportsCenter-worthy move.
