sorry if this was posted somewhere else  i didnt see it

http://www.nhl.com/features/spotlight/huet041106.html

In Montreal, it's hooray for Huet
By James Murphy | NHL.com correspondent
April 11, 2006

Quebec has produced more than its fair share of star goaltenders over the years. From Jacques Plante to Patrick Roy, to Martin Brodeur, to Roberto Luongo, Quebec has spawned some of the best goaltending talent in NHL history. That's why it's easy to mistake current Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet as simply another in the long line of masked men from Quebec.

Huet, however, grew up in the shadows of the French Alps and followed his local team in Grenoble, the town that once hosted the Winter Olympics. There, Huet followed the career of probably the best Quebec-born goaltender ever, Patrick Roy and recently pointed to Roy as his inspiration to become a goalie.

"I used to watch Grenoble," Huet recalled. "Hockey wasn't big, but my city was one of the best in the league so I became interested," he said. "I also followed Patrick Roy after I came here for a goalie camp and to play as a kid. He was the guy to be a fan of, and I try to use his butterfly style. He had great success too and when you're young you want to be like that."

Today, Huet a goalie from the French Alps whose style resembles Roy, has captivated the city of Montreal just as Roy did in the Stanley Cup seasons of 1986 and 1993. Huet's style and poise reminds many in the game of Roy and the other Quebec greats.

"He resembles those guys for sure," Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas said recently. "He has that trademark Quebec butterfly style and he can dominate a game just like any of those guys can or did. But he can also adjust to whatever style is necessary for the moment."

Domination definitely describes what Huet has done to opposing teams over the past three months. With the Canadiens well out of the playoff race prior to the Olympic break and then-No. 1 goaltender Jose Theodore struggling, Canadiens GM/coach Bob Gainey turned to Huet, to give his team some kind of spark.

"We really didn't know what to expect at that point," Gainey said. "There was a point when our team was looking for something to grab on to and he arrived. He took care of the unforced errors we were making then, and as time went on, the errors disappeared and it flows both ways now."

Huet has done more than give his team a spark though; he has brought them back into the playoff race and turned a city that was once more than mildly unhappy with the Canadiens, alive with euphoria over their storied hockey club.

Heading into action Tuesday, Huet was 18-9-4 with a 2.09 goals-against average, second best in the NHL, as well as a league best .931 save percentage. He has also posted seven shutouts, second only to Calgary's Mikka Kiprusoff who has eight. Huet actually shutout Thomas and Boston three-straight games, until giving up three goals in a 5-3 win April 4. His stellar play against the Bruins recently earned him NHL Defensive Player of the Week. His amazing stats, however, are not what impress Gainey or his teammates.

"Right now he is so stable and consistent, he will make eight to 10 difficult saves, but they're hard to pick out because he makes them look easy," Gainey said.

Defenseman Sheldon Souray echoed Gainey's thoughts on Huet.

"He came in here relatively unknown and no one, I think even management, really knew what they were getting," Souray said. "Then all of a sudden, here's a guy, for different reasons and situations, who was thrust into the spotlight and has pretty much carried this team on his shoulders since then. He's been so calm, cool and consistent out there that he makes us confident. We know that if we make a mistake, he'll be there for us.

"Not to take anything away from 'Jo' (Theodore), there was a point in this season where he and the team couldn't find its way. We needed a shot in the arm and Cris provided that."

Souray, who played in New Jersey before coming to Montreal, said Huet reminds him of his former teammate, Brodeur.

"He reminds me a lot of Marty in that while he's calm and in the zone so to speak, you still see him cracking a smile behind his mask," Souray said. "He can still do his job well but he's having fun and the team feeds off that. He's so easy to talk to on the ice and in the dressing room. He's also great with the media and fans and the city has really latched on to that."

With talk of who deserves the Hart and Vezina trophies already circulating in the media, Souray believes Huet should be considered for both.

"I think his statistics speak for themselves as far as the Vezina goes, but as far as what a guy has meant to his team, Cris is right up there with (Jaromir) Jagr, (Joe) Thornton and (Alexander) Ovechkin," Souray said.

"I'm not sure he's played enough games but we're not where we are without him."