What did Cloutier *really* mean?

Depending on where you sit on Kings' competitiveness this year and the leadership abilities of LA goaltender Dan Cloutier, you probably found yourself in one of the two camps that were formed as a result of this Cloutier comment after the season-opener loss to the Ducks on Friday:

"We have to give this Ducks team a lot of credit. They're one of the best teams in the league for a reason, but we came in here and hung with them for most of the game".

Now, some of the die-hardest Cloutier proponents think he *meant* that the Kings should feel good about themselves and a narrowly-lost game because the Ducks are supposed to be so much better (and projected to go deep into the play-offs next spring) and the Kings still managed to make it a close away game.

Then again, there is a camp made up of Cloutier's opponents, who claim Dan *meant* that the Kings' reason to be happy about themselves was not that they could go ahead and beat the Ducks (which they did not), but rather they they had managed to "hang in there". This camp claims Cloutier focus is diverted from winning a game to making a favorable impression in a lost-cause loss.

Hmm, I know that Dan's not exactly the most exuberant guy out there and not as Alpha-doggish as I would like him to be, but his leadership qualities and fighting spirit are unquestioned by someone, who knows him long and well - his coach Marc Crawford:

"We got Dan from Vancouver, he was a competitor. But he has become so much more complete as a goaltender," said Crawford, who was Cloutier's coach in Vancouver. "His movement is now on par with some of the top goaltenders in our game."

The Vancouver experience (as well as his fight with Tommy Salo when Cloutier was donning a Ranger uniform) seems to indicate the man is hardly defensive about his team and role. Here's Cloutier:

"I think playing in a Canadian city, you don't have a choice but to go out there every night because if you don't, it is only going to make things worse."

I agree I'm in the first camp on this one. I find his comment pretty realistic and while perhaps a little ambiguous, it bears no signs of premature yielding to the opposition. I'm gonna give Cloutier the benefit of the doubt here and hope he's got his goalie pants (and pads) on fire next time the Kings face Anaheim.

And what do you think he meant?

(photo courtesy of www.cbc.ca)