The Avalanche isn’t waiting for Godot, because he can’t play goal.
Rather, the wait is for Jose Theodore, who is expected to come to Denver after his girlfriend gives birth to a daughter in Montreal. Theodore will then continue to rehabilitate his fractured heel and move toward taking over Colorado’s No. 1 goaltending job.
That’s the theory, anyway, but if Peter Budaj continues to be stingy during Theodore’s absence, it could complicate the decisions for Colorado coach Joel Quenneville.
Quenneville wouldn’t be complaining, though, because it would mean Budaj thrived as the starter.
“I thought Peter was excellent,” Quenneville said after Budaj got his first career shutout in the 3-0 victory over Calgary on Sunday at the Pepsi Center. “He looked big in the net and made a key save at the end of that second period to keep the shutout going. He looked solid, in control, was following the puck.”
Quenneville emphasized that he isn’t looking at Budaj as an emergency stopgap.
“He’s our No. 1 guy right now,” Quenneville said. “Part of the decision in making the trade was that we were real comfortable (going) with Peter down the stretch. He gave us every indication he can handle the workload and the challenge. Going forward, the guys in front of him are comfortable with him in the net.”
Budaj won’t be drawn into a discussion of whether he’s going to accept that Theodore will be the long-term starter, or whether he can give the NHL’s 2002 most valuable player a run for his money.
“I can’t really control whether I’m going to be a starter or backup,” Budaj said. “The only thing you can control is your work ethic. I’m going to do my best and try to show the coaching staff that I can do the job until Jose comes back, and then we’ll see what happens.”
Quenneville said the plan was to come back with Budaj in the rematch with the Flames tonight at Calgary.
Footnotes
In addition to reaching 900 career assists, Joe Sakic’s goal and assist against the Flames moved him within two points of Stan Mikita, who is No. 11 on the NHL’s all-time scoring list, at 1,467 points. … Colorado is 16-7-2 in intradivisional games, and 11-1-2 at the Pepsi Center. Colorado has three more games against the Flames – all at Calgary. … Brad May and Bob Boughner were the healthy scratches for the Avalanche. … Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf had five shots apiece on Budaj for the Flames, who remained tied with Columbus and Chicago for the fewest number of goals (162) in the league.
