Cloutier back in Form
Terry Bell
The Province
CANADA.COM
Maybe he was a little rusty after a four-game layoff with that strained knee.
Maybe it was just one of those little glitches that come along during a season.
Whatever, that wee bit of fumble-itis that plagued Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier seems to have cleared up. After a bad night in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to Toronto, Cloutier was sharp again Thursday, making 17 saves in a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at GM Place.
Good thing, too. There was no margin for error, what with Habs goalie Jose Theodore standing on his head and making 32 saves at the other end.
"Yeah, I gave up four goals against Toronto [the fifth was into an empty net] and I just wanted to keep it simple tonight," said Cloutier, who got his 19th win of the season. That ties him with New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and Chicago's Jocelyn Thibault for the NHL lead.
He gave up four goals on just 18 shots against Toronto. On Saturday, his first game back, he gave up three goals on 25 shots in a 7-3 win over Anaheim. Not stellar outings.
"I felt better tonight than I did against Toronto," he said. "But I felt pretty good against Anaheim. There were a couple of things I felt a little shaky on, which is normal. But against Toronto I didn't feel all that positive about my game.
"Tonight was a big win for us. We didn't play well last game but the defence was solid tonight."
Almost too solid. The Canucks gave up just three shots in the first period and just 19 on the night. Sometimes that can be worse than being busy.
"After you don't think you played well and you come back, you want to get a lot of work early on," said Cloutier. "Montreal didn't shoot a lot in the first period but ... I felt good with my focus and I felt good positionally."
"Yeah, Dan played well," said Canucks head coach Marc Crawford.
"The last couple of nights having to watch the other goalie's performance ... that can be tough on a goaltender," added Crawford, referring to Theodore and Toronto's Ed Belfour. "You think, 'oh boy, oh boy [he's playing really well]'. They had a few good chances in the third period and he was real good."
Cloutier wasn't tested until he had to make a save with the blocker off Andreas Dackell with about five minutes left in the second period.
He made another one off Joe Juneau about a minute later and then stoned Patrick Traverse and Richard Zednik in the third period.
"When he had to make the saves he made the saves," said Canadiens Saku Koivu. "He became big in the third period."