Cloutier falls flat for Kings in loss

Kings goaltender Dan Cloutier took another giant step backward Thursday night.

Cloutier, who has struggled all season after signing a free-agent contract, gave up three goals in five shots in less than 10 minutes as Phoenix rolled to a 7-4 win over the Kings.

Cloutier would have given up a fourth goal, but referee Dennis LaRue ruled he had blown his whistle moments before the puck trickled through Cloutier’s pads and into the net.

“It seemed like every shot had a chance for some reason,” Cloutier said. “It was one of those nights where Phoenix kept coming and we seemed like we wanted to exchange scoring, like we wanted to play a wide-open game, but we should know better than that.”

Despite Cloutier’s struggles, the Kings tied the score, 3-3, when Craig Conroy scored at 17 minutes 20 seconds of the first period -- about seven minutes after Cloutier had been pulled in favor of rookie Barry Brust.

But Phoenix answered 39 seconds later on a goal by Patrick Fischer and the Coyotes took charge from there.

“We had to throw a kid in and the kid wasn’t up to the challenge tonight,” Kings Coach Marc Crawford said.

Derek Armstrong had two goals and an assist for the Kings, who had won two in a row. Michael Cammalleri also scored for the Kings.

“We needed better goaltending tonight and Danny didn’t give it to us,” Crawford said. “I know that he wanted to play better and he’s capable of playing better and we’ve got to find a way to help him through this.”