Blues waive struggling goalie Lalime
Goaltender Patrick Lalime's terrible numbers cost him his job, and he was waived Monday by the St. Louis Blues.
The 31-year-old Lalime was let go two days after yet another poor performance.
The Blues lost 5-4 in overtime to the New York Rangers on Saturday, and coach Mike Kitchen called four of the goals soft. The Rangers scored in overtime when the puck bounced off the glass behind Lalime, hit him in the backside and bounced into the net.
``He's been struggling and the team is starting to play better,'' Kitchen said. ``It's just a matter that we thought it was time to make a change and see if that helps out, and have Patty step away just a little bit so he can work on his game and get back to where he was when he was at Ottawa.''
Lalime has struggled all season for the team with the NHL's worst record, going 3-11-4 with a 3.97 goals-against average - 40th among 42 goalies. His .866 save percentage is the lowest of any goalie with 15 or more games played.
Lalime, in his first season with St. Louis, had been expected to lend stability after years of revolving goalies for the Blues. He was not at practice Monday and unavailable for comment.
Curtis Sanford becomes the starter. He's 2-4 with a 3.35 goals-against average.
The team called up Jason Bacashihua from Peoria of the American Hockey League as a backup. Bacashihua was 9-4 with a 2.63 GAA for Peoria.
Lalime was benched for six games in November, with Sanford starting all six. Lalime's best showing of the season came on his return, a 4-1 win Dec. 1 over Columbus.
In his past three games, he allowed 13 goals on 73 shots.
The Blues traded a conditional fourth-round draft pick to acquire Lalime from Ottawa after the 2003-04 season.
Lalime was 25-23-7 in 57 games in 2003-04, with a GAA of 2.29. Before this season, his career average was 2.39. He was an all-star in the 2002-03 season.
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