Cloutier sees growth in himself, former team

TAMPA -- Dan Cloutier would have preferred to be in goal for the Canucks Friday night.

It was his first visit to Tampa Bay since being dealt Feb. 7, 2001, to Vancouver, about a month before the Lightning acquired Nikolai Khabibulin. Instead, Cloutier sat and Peter Skudra started. "It would have been nice to play," Cloutier said, "but it's not a big deal. I've played against the Lightning before."

Before the Lightning acquired Cloutier in June 1999, he faced Tampa Bay twice, in a 3-1 loss and 10-2 win. In December at Vancouver, in his only game against Tampa Bay since the trade to the Canucks, Khabibulin and Cloutier were exceptional in a 1-1 tie.

Canucks coach Marc Crawford said, "Dan's played quite a few games (16 consecutive starts) and we wanted to get Peter in. We sent him to play a minor-league game Saturday night and didn't want him to have to wait too long before he got another start. ... The season's long and the decision was (made) more because we didn't have a lot of back-to-backs (games on consecutive days) this year. We decided to use Peter on the front end of it instead of the back."

With oft-injured Daren Puppa out virtually the entire 1999-2000 season, Cloutier played 52 games. The Lightning won 19 of 82 games. Cloutier was No. 2 to Kevin Weekes the next season and won three of 19 decisions.

"With Vinny (Lecavalier) and (Brad) Richards and Kubie (Pavel Kubina) and Cory (Sarich), a lot of young guys were playing a lot of games and we made a lot of mistakes because we were inexperienced," Cloutier said. "By playing games you gain experience and look at them now. They've learned. Same with me. I went through a lot when I was here and it's made me a better goalie."

CULLIMORE OUT: Defenseman Jassen Cullimore was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Wednesday, with a sprained left shoulder he injured in the third period of Wednesday's 1-1 tie at Buffalo. If there are no complications, Cullimore is expected to return for Thursday's game against Edmonton.

ETC: Left wing Chris Dingman and right wing Jimmie Olvestad were healthy scratches. ... In the past five seasons, 66 of 80 teams in the top eight of their conference the day after Thanksgiving made the playoffs. Friday morning, Tampa Bay was second in the East, trailing Boston by two points. ... Single-game tickets for the Lightning's seven home games in January go on sale today. For information: www.tampabaylightning.com. or (813) 301-6600.