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BOX SCORE
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- Jose Theodore made all the stops and
provided the Montreal Canadiens all the offense they needed.
|  | | Canadiens goaltender Jose Theodore made 32 saves and scored a goal against the Islanders. |
Theodore became just the sixth NHL goalie to score a goal in a
regular-season game, and stopped all 32 shots he faced as the
Canadiens beat the New York Islanders 3-0 Tuesday night.
He got control of the puck behind his goal line, and lifted a
back-handed shot that landed at center ice and slid down into the
middle of the vacated New York goal with 8.1 seconds left.
"It was awesome," Theodore said. "I clear the puck better
with my backhand, and I just gave it a high arch. I was just trying
to clear the zone. I was jumping all over the place. We got the win
and the shutout, and I got a goal. It was a pretty good night for
me."
Lost in the hoopla was that Canadiens forward Patrick Poulin
scored his first two goals of the season. He hadn't scored in 47
games, dating to last March 8.
"All those stats are over now," Poulin said. "I wasn't
earning my ice time, but with Michel (coach Michel Therrien), he's
given me more ice time. I have to play defense first, but I have to
be able to score goals."
Theodore has more goals than the Islanders have the last 151
minutes, 16 seconds. New York ended a homestand with five losses in
seven games.
After a scoreless first period, which had the best chances for
the Islanders when they fired five shots at Theodore during a power
play, Poulin gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 15:40 of the second
period.
Craig Darby failed to beat Islanders goalie John Vanbiesbrouck
with a wraparound but the puck was left loose in the crease. Poulin
tapped it in on a backhand.
Poulin made it 2-0 at 9:33 of the final period when he took
Darby's pass near the left circle and wristed the puck over
Vanbiesbrouck's glove.
"Darby made great plays on both goals," Poulin said. "He gave
me a nice pass on the second one."
The Islanders pulled Vanbiesbrouck with almost two minutes left.
Montreal had Poulin out to try for a hat trick, but it was Theodore
who sent a backhand flip out of the zone. Islanders forward Claude
Lapointe was going off for a line change, and didn't see the puck
go by him until it was too late.
"I never knew where the puck was," Lapointe said. "I broke a
skate blade, so I was going for a change. When I got to the bench,
the guys were pointing to center ice. I turned and saw it go by."
Canadiens defenseman Patrice Brisebois thought Theodore's goal
was more difficult than others scored by goalies.
"Jose didn't fire the puck down," Brisebois said. "He just
sort of blooped it, so it wasn't going as fast. Plus, the ice
wasn't very good. It was almost like you needed a (curling) sweeper
out there."
In the other locker room, the frustration was evident,
especially with the booing by the 7,916 in attendance.
"It's getting so old to say it's frustrating, but you have to
keep going back to the drawing board until it works," Islanders
forward Mark Parrish said. "As much as we love the fans here and
want them to come and watch, if they're going to boo us like that,
we'd appreciate it if they'd just stay home, to be honest with you.
That's not going to help us out all that much."
Game notes
New Jersey's Martin Brodeur was the last goalie to score
when he did it Feb. 15, 2000. Brodeur and former Islanders goalie
Ron Hextall tallied once each in both the regular season and
playoffs. ... The Islanders had won five of six meetings at home
against Montreal. ... It was the second time that the Islanders
were shut out in consecutive home games. It also happened in their
first season, 1972-73. ... Montreal forwards Saku Koivu and Brian
Savage both had five-game point-scoring streaks snapped. ... D
Roman Hamrlik, who missed the last five games with a groin strain,
was rested for another game. Hamrlik, who could have played, is due
back Thursday night at New Jersey.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Montreal Clubhouse
NY Islanders Clubhouse
RECAPS
Ottawa 3
St. Louis 1
Philadelphia 1
New Jersey 1
Montreal 3
NY Islanders 0
Colorado 6
Los Angeles 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Montreal's Jose Theodore scores a rare goal as he clears the puck into an empty net.
avi: 1310 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Tim Connolly beats the Montreal defender on a great move, but comes up short against Jose Theodore.
avi: 568 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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