(My Sportsbook) - After signing a deal with the St. Louis Blues on November 4, veteran netminder Tom Barrasso made his 2002-03 debut Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

The 37-year-old former Vezina Trophy winner showed signs of rust in his team's 6-3 setback to the Canucks, but expected to be off his game a bit.

"I felt like a guy who had been on the ice for 15 days...There were a lot of little sloppy errors that I know I can fix," Barrasso said after the game. "A lot of what I expected."

Barrasso, the fifth netminder to be used by St. Louis this season, stopped 29- of-35 shots, but the Blues suffered their second loss in three games after a nine-game win streak had sparked the best start in franchise history.

St. Louis stormed out of the gates and spotted Barrasso a two-goal first period lead, but the strong play of Vancouver netminder Dan Cloutier and the Canucks' upstyle tempo changed the complexion of the game, which soon turned into a rout.

"We don't mind it going the other way," Blues coach Joel Quenneville said of the up-tempo. "But we got away from what we're about as a team. We didn't play responsibly. We let them control that part of the game...For excitement, there were a lot of opportunities, lots of chances. Not the way we'd like to see them."

The 35 shots were the most allowed by St. Louis this season, but it was the second time in the last three games its opponent has reached at least 30.

Cloutier's night was not just limited to his play in the crease, as he did what he does best and that is get under the skin of opposing players. After jawing back-and-forth with St. Louis skaters all game, Cloutier got into a scuffle with Scott Mellanby towards the end of the match.

After a linesman separated the two, Cloutier took a slash at the back of Mellanby's knees and triggered an all-out melee. Cloutier wiggled free of his sweater to get back at Mellanby, and when he couldn't reach him, Cloutier clawed into Bryce Salvador.

"He's a fiery guy," Mellanby said. "He competes hard. He'd been going at me there in the game...He's got a way of getting under guys' skin."

Cloutier, who once challenged the entire New York Islanders bench to a brawl while with the Rangers, did not seem to let the fracas bother him.

"You don't always do the right thing every time," Cloutier said. "Sometimes your emotions get the best of you, but I got right back into it and started focusing on my job which is stopping pucks."

WHO'S NEXT

The Blues will conclude a four-game road trip with stops in Edmonton, Calgary and Columbus.