When Canes are on the ice, Walker is on watch

RALEIGH -- Scott Walker's left hand was heavily taped Tuesday, and everyone in the Carolina Hurricanes' locker room knew why.

Walker hurt his hand Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers trying to reconfigure the face of the Flyers' Nate Guenin. A first-period fight landed Walker in the penalty box and came as a surprise to no one who knows the forward or what he's all about as a player.

Certainly not Matt Cullen.

Cullen missed several games last season after an open-ice shot from the New York Rangers' Colton Orr that caused Cullen to have headaches and vision problems and all the side effects from a major concussion. So, after Guenin blindsided the Canes center Sunday, Walker immediately went after Guenin, the gloves were dropped and fists flew.

"He's one of those guys you love to have on your team because he does things like that," Cullen said after practice Tuesday. "He's done that before, and he's become such an important part of our team because of that, and the way he plays, and the way be puts himself on the line every game."

At 5 feet 10 and 196 pounds, Walker was giving away four inches and about 15 or 20 pounds to Guenin, a sturdy defenseman who spent much of last season in the American Hockey League. Not that it mattered.

"I thought he took a big run at a guy [Cullen] who had missed games with a head [injury] last year," Walker said. "You're kind of sensitive to that kind of stuff.

"You don't really think about it. It's probably not the smartest thing to do, but it's something that happens, you know?"

It happens with Walker a lot. It's not that he's a mean guy or always spoiling for a fight. But if the NHL game summary sheets had a category designated "HTB" -- for "Have Teammate's Back" -- Walker easily would be one of the team's leaders.

"He brings that energy and that toughness and that fire every game, and the team builds off it," center Eric Staal said. "You feel more comfortable on the ice with a teammate like that.

"If you get under his skin enough, or someone is bothering him enough or he gets fired up enough, he can get that look in his eye. And you're just glad you're not on the other team."

Walker has some help. The Canes' toughness quotient has risen in the past couple of years with the addition of such players as 6-4, 225-pound forward Wade Brookbank and defenseman Tim Conboy, who looks like a UFC fighter on skates at 6-2 and 210.

"When we decided to make some changes to our team, Brookbank and Conboy came in and were a good fit," general manager Jim Rutherford said. "They brought the toughness, they gave protection to our players and helped our dressing room. They made a difference."

Walker, beginning his 14th NHL season, concedes he literally fought his way into the league. In his first three full seasons, with the Vancouver Canucks, he had 433 penalty minutes in 186 games.

"I have a little bit of a temper," he said, smiling. "Sometimes, I forget what happens out there. I say some things or do some things I don't remember.

"People say, 'Oh, you're not scared.' I'm scared every game. You play scared. There are big guys out there and you can get run over. But that's how you play -- you can feed off the fear."

Walker, 35, said he's usually a pretty calm guy but noted he is highly competitive. Sometimes, he said, it brings out the best and the worst in him.

"I don't like being that hot-headed, but I think sometimes your faults are the reason you make it," he said. "To be honest, it got me in the league and it has helped me stay here."

What's interesting about Walker is once he went to the Nashville Predators, in 1998, his penalty minutes declined. He twice scored 25 goals for the Predators and helped the expansion team reach the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time.

"Different teams, different seasons, different roles," he said. "At Nashville, I might have been playing up a line or two, or down. Or we didn't have room to get five-minute penalties. It varies."

Walker, traded to the Canes in 2006, had 21 goals and 45 penalty minutes in 81 games his first season in Raleigh. Last season: 115 penalty minutes in 58 games.

Whatever's needed. It varies.

"Since he's come here, he's really worked hard to make his impact on the team in the way he plays and who he is as a person," Canes coach Peter Laviolette said. "It shows to everybody."

Just look at Walker's left hand.