If Peter Budaj sees as little action as he did Tuesday night, you could pencil him in already for a Vezina Trophy.
In relief of starting Avalanche goalie Jose Theodore midway through the second period, Budaj faced just six shots on goal and stopped them all in Colorado’s 4-1 NHL preseason victory over the Dallas Stars at the Pepsi Center. Theodore faced 26 shots in his 32 minutes of play.
How much action the Avalanche’s backup goalie gets in general this coming season is probably more predictable than it was in 2005-06. Last season, Budaj ranked anywhere from first to third on the Avs’ goalie depth chart, depending on the month.
This season, with Theodore firmly established as the top goalie, Budaj is realistic about his playing opportunity. But he’ll be ready for anything.
“Jose is the No. 1 guy. He’s got it,” Budaj said. “But I’m going to push for myself to get as much time as I can on the ice, and try to prove to the coaching staff that I belong out there. My goal is to push Jose as hard as I can. That’s only good for the team.”
Budaj had a solid rookie season, posting a 14-10-6 record with a 2.86 goals-against average. He had a shutout streak for more than 113 minutes in March, and his 34 appearances were one shy of the organization record for rookies, set by Mario Gosselin in 1984-85. If Theodore stays healthy and plays to his capability, Budaj probably will get up to 20 starts.
“It feels good, what I did in my rookie year. But now I have to prove that it was no fluke,” said Budaj, who turned 24 on Monday. “This summer, I was trying to get ready physically for whatever happens. I think I came into camp in good shape.”
For the first time since the Avs moved to Denver, the team is employing a goalie coach, Jeff Hackett. In previous years, assistant coach Jacques Cloutier, a former goalie, worked with the goalies, but concentrated more on the team’s defense. Director of player development Craig Billington also worked with the goalies, but the team felt it was time to employ a coach who could focus solely on the goalies. Hackett played with Theodore in Montreal.
“I think I’m very fortunate to work with these two guys,” said Hackett, who also will work with goalies at Albany of the American Hockey League. “I’m very familiar with Jose, having played with him, and Peter, I’ve heard so many good things about. I’m excited about the challenge given to me.”
Theodore, as he was in Monday’s intrasquad scrimmage, was sharp against Dallas. He stopped 25-of-26 shots, allowing only a 5-on-3 Dallas power-play goal. The Avs got goals from Andrew Brunette, Milan Hejduk, Wojtek Wolski and John-Michael Liles, three of which came on the power play.
“Power play was good, and I thought a lot of our young guys did another nice job tonight,” Avs coach Joel Quenneville said. “Jose was sharp. We felt coming in that he was going to give us solid goaltending, and so far he’s shown that.”
The Avs will travel to Detroit for a Thursday exhibition at Joe Louis Arena.
Dallas 1 0 0 – 1
Colorado 3 0 1 – 4
First period – 1, Colorado, Brunette 1 (Sakic, Clark), 1:49 (pp). 2, Colorado, Hejduk 1 (Brunette, Sakic), 8:22 (pp). 3, Dallas, Zubov 1 (Modry, Sertich), 17:55 (pp). 4, Colorado, Wolski 1 (Stastny), 18:30 (sh).
Second period – None.
Third period – 5, Colorado, Liles 1 (Laperriere, May), 6:32 (pp).
Shots on goal – Dallas 12-15-5-32. Colorado 10-9-11-30. Goalies – Dallas, Turco, Ellis. Colorado, Theodore, Budaj. A – N/A.
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
