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Easy afternoon Cloutier shuts out Wild 5-0 on only 18 shots
Updated: Sunday November 11, 2001 5:50 PM
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Vancouver Canucks made things easy for goaltender Dan Cloutier on Sunday. Cloutier was rarely challenged and faced only 18 shots in recording his third shutout of the season as the struggling Canucks got beat the Minnesota Wild 5-0. "It's always nice to get a shutout, but I didn't really have to make too many saves," Cloutier said. "The team played so well in front of me that I didn't really have to do too much." Markus Naslund had a goal and an assist, and Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi each had a pair of assists for the Canucks, who scored on three of five shots in the first period. The Wild were shut out at home for the second straight game. "We know we better get going," Naslund said. "This was more like we played last year. It's nice to pull off win, but the way we won showed a lot." Cloutier wasn't tested until the third, when Sergei Zholtok and Andrew Brunette both had point-blank shots turned away. Slumping Minnesota goalie Manny Fernandez fell to 0-5-1 in his last six starts, allowing five or more goals in three of them. Fernandez was pulled after the second period with the Wild trailing 5-0. "He's fighting the puck, and he's not real confident now," Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire said. "He needs a break or two to get his confidence back like he did last year." Vancouver scored on its first shot at 1:58 of the first period. Drake Berehowsky took Bertuzzi's pass from behind the net and beat Manny Fernandez before being pushed through the goal mouth by defenseman Ladislav Benysek. It was Berehowsky's first goal of the season. Donald Brashear took advantage of the bad line change to pick up a loose puck in front of the Wild bench and skate in alone on Fernandez, beating him for his fourth goal at 14:53 of the first. 'It's always a nice feeling when you can play a period or two without pressure,' Naslund said. Henrik Sedin's first goal of the season capped the first-period surge at 16:59. Ed Jovanovski and Naslund scored for the Canucks in the second period, when Vancouver outshot Minnesota 15-3. "They got a couple of goals, and we stopped skating," Lemaire said. "The game just got away from us." Notes: Trevor Linden, reacquired by the Canucks from the Washington Capitals in a trade Saturday, started Sunday and centered a line that included Trent Klatt and Matt Cooke. ... Minnesota's league-leading power play went scoreless in four attempts. ... Vancouver's Donald Brashear is providing his team with the usual toughness -- leading the team with 76 penalty minutes. His goal Sunday gives him four for the year; he's never scored more than 11 in a season. ... Minnesota C Stacey Roest, who scored five goals in the team's first five games, has gone without a goal in 11 straight games.
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