Walker delivers blow

Scott Walker became the villain when he clocked Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward, dropping him to the ice in Game 5. The play was considered a cheap shot by some, but Walker apologized and received a fine for the punch.

Walker didn't earn any friends last night in Boston when he scored the winning goal in overtime to boost the Hurricanes to a 3-2 Game 7 victory at TD Banknorth Garden, as Carolina advanced to the Eastern Conference finals to face the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As the Bruins and Hurricanes shook hands, Walker said there were no hard feelings.

"They were classy," said Walker. "I apologized for it again. Again, I can't say anything more than I'm sorry. It was something that happened really quick. I mean, I'm not going to beat it to death. I said what I said to him out there I apologized and they were classy. They all shook my hand. Like I said, they're a great team, they have everything. Size, great goaltending, great skill. I mean, it was a heck of a battle."

Added Carolina coach Paul Maurice: "You guys will look at that event as who Scott Walker is, but there's so much more to this man and what he means to our locker room and some of the adversity that he's faced this year . . . He's just a special person. There wouldn't be a guy in that room loved more than Scotty Walker."

Walker had plenty of scoring chances last night after moving onto a line with Eric Staal and Ray Whitney. Maurice and his staff agreed Walker gave Carolina its best play near the goal line and behind the net.

With powerful defensemen like Ward and Zdeno Chara leading the way, Maurice said Walker would be able to stand his ground against the duo.

The move resulted in the first career playoff goal for Walker, who said the goal was because of his linemates more than anything he created.

"I basically went to the net and whacked one out of the air," Walker said. "That doesn't take much skill."

The win was one of the best moments in his hockey career, Walker said. The response is no surprise, considering what it took for the sixth-seeded Hurricanes to move on.

In the first round against New Jersey, Staal scored the winning goal with 31.7 seconds left in Game 7 to send the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 4-3 win.

Last night, the Hurricanes took the ice in an arena so loud the cheers felt like vibrations from a booming speaker.

In the first period, they found themselves behind, 1-0. But Rod Brind'Amour tied the score with 6:01 left in the first with assists from Dennis Seidenberg and Joni Pitkanen.

Carolina took a 2-1 lead in the second period when Sergei Samsonov scored with assists from Pitkanen and defenseman Frantisek Kaberle, who made his first appearance in this series.

The Hurricanes can thank their penalty-killing unit for helping keep the game close. The Bruins were held scoreless on all four power plays.

Neither team did much on the power play during the playoffs. The Bruins converted 14 percent (6 for 43) of their chances and the Hurricanes scored on 10.4 percent (5 for 48) of their opportunities.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.