Monarchs Notebook: Boudreau has decision to make in goal
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer
April 9, 2003

SEVEN playoff-ready reinforcements from the Los Angeles Kings practiced yesterday with the Manchester Monarchs, including promising rookie goaltender Cristobal Huet, who could be making his final curtain call in the Queen City.

Huet, with a year left on his Kings contract, is poised to make a permanent home in Los Angeles next season if the Kings do not re-sign Felix Potvin.

Extrapolating Huet’s full-season NHL performance from his debut of 12 games with a 91.3 save percentage and 2.33 goals against average, he would have led the Kings. Huet went .500 in those NHL starts. If the combination of Kings goalies Felix Potvin and Jamie Storr had gone .500, equating in hindsight to 10 more wins — the Kings would be in the playoffs.

But one would think the Monarchs would start veteran goalie Travis Scott for Saturday night’s (7:35 p.m.) first round AHL playoff opener with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in Verizon Wireless Arena. However, one would think the Kings would start Huet.

Since the Kings own the Monarchs . . . well, if you work for a living you know the rest of the story.

Monarchs coach Bruce Boudreau said yesterday the goaltending calls will be his unless he learns otherwise this weekend when all the Kings brass will be in town.

“If we’re not successful, I’m going to second guess myself every night,” Boudreau admitted. It’s probably safe to think that Boudreau will not rotate the two goalies in a best-of-five series.

And in hopes of avoiding a goaltender controversy, he will meet with Huet and Scott today to name the starter.

“It’s a tough decision,” said Boudreau.

“If they have a tough decision, it’s good,” Scott said. “I’d definitely like to know, the sooner the better . . . I don’t think it’s a controversy. I just want to prepare myself for either possibility. But, I’m not going to let it bother the team in any way.”

Boudreau will not make that decision public until presenting his lineup to officials Saturday night.

That move is meant to keep the Sound Tigers guessing, since it appears they are playing the same guessing game with the status of N.Y. Islanders backup Ricky DiPietro. DiPietro led the Sound Tigers to the AHL Eastern Conference championship last season and remains on Bridgeport’s playoff roster.

Huet has not played with the Monarchs since Feb. 17 when he was amid a string of just one loss in eight starts. Meanwhile, Scott has been a key to Manchester’s securing home-ice for the postseason’s first round.

Scott has just one loss in his last 11 starts, including four shutouts. He has a career-high 23 victories.

Huet, for the most part, has better Monarchs numbers, but Scott has played 1,000 more minutes.

“Huet was a little better in the statistics when he was here, and Travis is the bull who got us to where we are,” Boudreau said.

Scott was the best goalie in the league in March. Huet was the best rookie goalie in the league, period.

But all the ifs and buts aside, no matter which goalie Boudreau picks as the post-season starter, he noted, “Both are very good. Both deserve to start opening night. Both are good people. Both are successful. We saw both enough to know that if they take their place in a game in this series they will be ready.”

Source:  UnionLeader.com