In the carousel that is the Avalanche’s goaltending situation, it is Jose Theodore’s turn again to claim the high horse and keep it that way.
Theodore, the Avs’ nearly $6 million man, will start tonight against the Western Conference-leading Anaheim Ducks – two days after fellow goalie Peter Budaj allowed five goals to Dallas in a loss.
The Ducks beat Theodore in four straight playoff games last spring, in the second round of the playoffs. Entering Tuesday, the Ducks had lost two games in regulation. But the Avs are paying Theodore $5.5 million this season to be the guy who can win games such as tonight’s.
“As a player, you want great challenges,” Theodore said. “We’re facing one of the top teams (tonight). Everybody’s going to have to be on top of their game.”
Theodore’s last start was a 4-3 loss at home to San Jose last week. To lay the margin of blame at his locker would be tough to justify, as the Sharks’ last two goals came on the power play – one on a 5-on-3.
Yet, the numbers are the numbers for Theodore: a 5-6-1 record, 3.18 goals-against average and .898 saves percentage.
Theodore has spent much of the past week working closely with Avalanche goaltending coach Jeff Hackett. Theodore hopes continual work on his technique and film study will lead to improvement in his play.
“His schedule is planned in advance, and I was looking forward to (this week),” Theodore said. “The last time he was in, we won a couple and I started feeling much better. Hopefully, this will be the same thing. It’s always good to have him here.”
One thing that might help Theodore statistically is for the Avs to play the kind of defense in front of him they seem to play for Budaj.
The Avs have allowed an average of 30.2 shots in Theodore’s 13 starts, compared to 26.8 in Budaj’s nine. Theodore has also had to face a lot of opposing power plays this season; Of the 40 goals he has allowed, 37.5 percent have come on the power play (15 goals). Another two goals Theodore allowed came on short-handed breakaways.
Of the 20 goals Budaj has allowed, four came on the power play (20 percent).
“Now, with the new NHL, the only stat that you look at is your wins,” Theodore said. “If you have that game where you allow eight goals, you need five or six games to bring down that (goals-against) average. If it’s 1-0 or 5-4, I just want to win the game.”
Theodore worked a lot with Hackett about controlling his rebounds better. Asked if Theodore has allowed too many rebounds this season, Avs coach Joel Quenneville said:
“I don’t know if it’s just rebounds. I think it’s about whether you’re controlling your rebounds, whether you’re controlling your positioning, whether you’re tight to the shot.
“(You do that) and there’s less holes, less gap. I think he’s worked in practice with Hack and doing some things along the way to solidify his game. He got to watch a few games, too, and I’m sure he’s eager to get back in there.”
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
Dater can also be heard on “The Puck Stops Here”, Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m. on KLZ, 560 AM.
