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Ward helps Hurricanes edge Panthers

Mar 2, 2011 - 6:57 AM Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) - Cam Ward stopped 41-of-42 shots as Carolina clipped Florida, 2-1, at RBC Center.

Cory Stillman and Eric Staal provided the tallies for the Hurricanes, who have won two of three.

Stephen Weiss notched the lone goal for the Panthers, losers in four of five.

Scott Clemmensen made 20 saves in the setback.

"We played well and we should be proud of ourselves -- I'm very proud of the way we competed tonight," said Clemmensen. "We didn't give up and we fought the entire game."

Stillman staked Carolina to a 1-0 lead at the 5:25 mark of the first period, poking in an errant pass from Erik Cole at the right post.

Staal's deflection of a Stillman slapper from the right-wing boards made it 2-0 at 14:55 on a Carolina power play.

Florida got on the board when Weiss managed to tap a bouncing puck inside the right post at 3:58 of the second period, but Ward kept the visitors at bay with 16 saves in the middle 20 minutes.

Ward was slightly stronger in the third period, posting 18 stops to preserve the one-goal margin.

"You can't take your foot off the gas with a lead in this league," said Ward. "You see all over that teams constantly come back from deficits, so it's important to stay focused."

Game Notes

The Hurricanes won four of six games over the Panthers this season...Hurricanes defenseman Bryan Allen also faced his former club, dealt by the Panthers on Monday...Florida forward Sergei Samsonov also squared off against his former 'Canes teammates after being traded on Monday...Ward's season-best for saves in a game is 45 in a 3-2 win at Atlanta on December 16.