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BOX SCORE
MONTREAL (AP) -- Jose Theodore wasn't caught entirely off guard
when Montreal Canadiens coach Alain Vigneault told him Tuesday morning that he would start in goal against the powerful Detroit Red Wings.
|  | | Montreal goaltender Jose Theodore turns aside a shot by Detroit's Brendan Shanahan, left. |
"I knew Jeff (Hackett) was a little sick so I prepared myself
as if I would be playing," Theodore said Tuesday night, moments
after his 28 saves led the lowly Canadiens to a 3-0 shutout victory.
"I was ready. I was confident and comfortable."
Sergei Zholtok and Benoit Brunet scored in the second period and Dainius Zubrus added one in the third as the Canadiens ended a
seven-game winless streak with an unlikely victory over the NHL's top team.
It was Theodore's second shutout of the season and third of his
career for Montreal, which last won Dec. 20 against Pittsburgh.
The Red Wings, 27-12-4-1, ended a two-game winning streak and
were shut out for the first time this season. Detroit was last
blanked April 11 at Pittsburgh.
Most of the Red Wings' most dangerous chances came during a pair
of four-minute power plays -- one early in the second period and the
other in the third that included two minutes with a two-man advantage.
The announced crowd of 20,296 saw Theodore rob Larry Murphy with a glove save from the edge of the crease during the first power play and watched Steve Yzerman shoot wide of an open net during the second.
"That wasn't the best situation to be in against the best team
in the league," said the 23-year-old goalie. "When I saw guys
like Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and Chris Chelios out there, I
knew it wouldn't be easy.
"I just tried to stay focused and play the puck. To build my
reputation, I need to have games like that against those kinds of
teams."
Montreal took 26 shots at Chris Osgood and the Red Wings
appeared to look past the injury-wracked Canadiens.
"I wouldn't say we took them lightly," Detroit captain Steve
Yzerman said. "The Habs played a solid game and we had to earn our
chances.
"I wouldn't say the power play let us down, but we had to
capitalize on those chances. I don't think we played poorly. We had
a pretty good first period, but the Habs played well and they got
great goaltending."
Zholtok knocked in the rebound of Eric Weinrich's shot on a rush
8:01 into the second period for his career-high 13th goal.
Brunet deflected in Patrice Brisebois' low point shot during a
power play with seven seconds left in the period.
Zubrus was given credit for his ninth goal at 12:33 of the third
after his shot fell into the crease and Arron Asham banged Murphy's
stick, causing the puck to slide into the net.
"I'm pretty sure a team like that comes in and sees our lineup
and takes us a little lightly," Weinrich said. "We played hard and got great goaltending. That's what we need to win."
The Canadiens had lost their last four meetings with Detroit, and their last victory over the Red Wings came Jan. 20, 1997.
Montreal went into the game on a 0-4-3 run, with three-straight losses.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Montreal Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 3
Boston 2
Philadelphia 4
Carolina 3
Montreal 3
Detroit 0
New Jersey 6
Tampa Bay 5
Colorado 4
Nashville 2
Dallas 3
Edmonton 2
Ottawa 4
Los Angeles 3
St. Louis 5
San Jose 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Sergei Zholtok scores the first goal for Montreal.
avi: 565 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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