Back in the days when David Aebischer was the Avalanche’s No. 2 goalie, there was a minimum of a week between starts, leaving too much time to ponder an occasional poor performance.
The past week has felt a lot like the old days for Aebischer, and he knows a second consecutive bad outing Wednesday night against Los Angeles could leave him watching soon instead of playing.
“I would say I definitely had a couple tough days after that last game,” Aebischer said.
Last Wednesday against Nashville, Aebischer had perhaps his worst game since he took over for Patrick Roy as Colorado’s top goalie. Aebischer allowed five goals on 18 shots, but worse than that, he took a roughing penalty that led to a winning power-play goal late in the game. After the goal, he threw the puck against the boards in a fit of pique, thinking he was interfered with.
Aebischer said he has learned from the game. After watching videotape, he spotted some positioning errors he said will be corrected, and he doesn’t intend to lose his cool like that again. Not that he will be meek, but Aebischer knows he can’t fly off the handle in that manner.
“Pretty much afterward (I) felt like an idiot,” he said. “Whether it should have been a call or shouldn’t have, it doesn’t really matter. He didn’t call it. You just have to take it the way the game is called. I’m probably not proud of a couple things I did in that game, but I can’t change it now. I can just learn from it.”
Aebischer is likely to start Wednesday against the Kings at the Pepsi Center, although Avs coach Joel Quenneville had yet to inform him of a decision.
“We know who’s going to start, but we usually tell them the day before a game, and we’ll let them know (today),” Quenneville said.
Avalanche rookie Peter Budaj had an excellent performance in Friday’s 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago, making 38 saves, and won his first career start on Oct. 8 at Dallas. While Quenneville has been known to ride a hot goalie regardless of his rank on the depth chart, he said Aebischer still has the title of No. 1 goalie.
“I think Abby will be fine,” Quenneville said. “He had one game where he said he wasn’t his best, but certainly there was a message there for everybody as an organization that we definitely picked up from.”
Hejduk nears return
Avalanche right wing Milan Hejduk, out since training camp after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, could be back in the lineup Friday in Edmonton.
Quenneville said there is an outside chance Hejduk could play against the Kings, but Hejduk said that is unlikely, and that Friday is a more probable return date.
If that happens, Hejduk will be back a few games ahead of schedule. He took full contact at Monday’s practice without any sign the knee was bothering him.
When Hejduk returns, the Avs will probably clear a spot on the 23-man roster. Possibilities include the return of utility man Brett Clark to Lowell of the AHL or rookie Wojtek Wolski to major junior. Also, the St. Petersburg Times reported the Avs have talked with the Tampa Bay Lightning about a deal that would send defenseman Bob Boughner to the Stanley Cup champs. Boughner, who has played two of five games, is making $950,000.
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
