Statistically speaking, it was not an outstanding preseason for Avalanche goalie Jose Theodore. The words spoken on his behalf by his coach, however, said it was a very good preseason for Theodore.
“I thought he was real good. It’s going to be an important point of our team this year. We’re going to rely on goaltending … and I thought goaltending was one of our strengths throughout camp,” Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said.
Theodore finished the preseason with a 3-0 record and a 3.10 goals-against average. While those are fine statistics, his .887 save percentage was the poorest of any Avs goalie, and he allowed six goals on the final 37 shots he saw in the preseason.
Theodore was happy with his play overall, and proclaimed himself ready to take on the regular season, which begins Wednesday at 8 p.m. against the Dallas Stars at the Pepsi Center.
“I’m anxious to get it going,” he said. “I think, as a team, we had a good camp. Now it’s time to get it going with the real situation.”
Theodore’s one poor preseason outing came last week in Dallas, where he allowed three goals on six shots. Facing a low number of shots over an extended period can make it tough for goalies to maintain intensity, which Theodore admitted was something of a problem that night.
“That’s a situation where you’re kind of happy it happened in training camp,” Theodore said. “Like I always say, it’s not about the quantity of shots, but you just don’t want to let in some bad goals. The Dallas game was a tough game, obviously, and I had a chance to come back (Saturday night) and play a full game, which is much easier when you know in advance you’ll be playing a full game.”
Theodore has been working hard with Avs goalie coach Jeff Hackett on all areas of his game, especially staying square to the puck on initial shots. He stopped 28-of-31 shots in Saturday’s preseason finale, a 4-3 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings. He stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout, while the Avs got a goal from Marek Svatos for the win.
“It’s always about finding those little details and keep improving,” Theodore said. “The key is to never be happy with your game.”
Quenneville, whose team finished with a 5-1 preseason record, likely will have to cut two players by Tuesday’s NHL deadline to get to a 23-man roster. Four players likely will start the season on injured reserve. The Avs also will get most or all of retired Steve Konowalchuk’s $1.9 million back under the NHL salary cap. Konowalchuk’s retirement was the only big downer of an otherwise feel-good atmosphere around the Avs’ dressing room.
“I thought we had a real good camp,” Quenneville said. “For the most part, we were pleased with everything, starting with the rookie camp. We like the youthfulness that’s being injected in our group, and we’re excited to get started here this week.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
