Cam Ward has impressed with his ability to keep cool under pressure during these Stanley Cup Playoffs, but admits he's feeling the Alberta heat a little bit.

"You can see that the weather is quite nice," joked the Carolina Hurricanes netminder during a Thursday news conference in Edmonton. 

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward has been cool as a cucumber this post season. (Getty Images)

Ward is pretty familiar with the Alberta capital, having attended Oilers games while growing up in nearby Sherwood Park. So it should come as no surprise that Ward is feeling some nerves as prepares for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final.

"It is going to be exciting and it is different walking in here knowing that you are going to be on the ice and not in the stands," he said. "But, as tough as it may seem, you have got to treat it as any other game."

Asked how he'll keep his emotions in check for Saturday's contest, Ward offered the type of relaxed response that has been his hallmark this post-season

"You just don't think about it too much," he told reporters. "I find that it is a lot easier when you are just going out there and playing and not over-thinking or over-analyzing and trying to hype yourself up."

The 22-year-old rookie has shown no trace of fear this post-season. He was instrumental in Carolina's come-from-behind series victory over the Montreal Canadiens in the first round; bested his boyhood hero, Martin Brodeur, and the New Jersey Devils in the second; and withstood a confidence-testing challenge from the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference final.

"The one thing that [Ward's] shown throughout these playoffs is that he's unflappable," said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish.  "I don't think his confidence has ever wavered."

Ward's strong play has continued in the Stanley Cup final. He was the best player on the ice in Carolina's 5-4 victory in Game 1 and turned aside every shot he faced in a 5-0 win in Game 2.

"I don't think that his confidence level can get too much higher than it is now, coming off a shutout in Stanley Cup finals," said MacTavish.

"We'd like to pick away at that confidence."

MacTavish insists the Oilers must find a way to get more direct shots on Carolina's net if they are to find a way to solve Ward. The Hurricanes have blocked 45 shots in the first two games of the series.

"[We] haven't got a lot of breaks in the series in front of [Carolina's] net," said MacTavish. "We put 26 or 27 shots there [in Game 2] and had another 20 or so that were blocked, so we have to do some things tactically different." 

"We have to devise a different game plan as coaches to make sure that we're freeing up some space and some unobstructed shooting lanes that we can get the pucks to the net.

"We have made it easy on [Ward] in the location of the shots and that's got to change."