Confidence, Patrick Roy once said, is 90 percent of goaltending. To a goalie with a shortage of confidence, the puck looks like a tiny Starbucks after-coffee mint. Right now, the puck looks like a lumbering weather balloon to Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj.
The surety of his recent play extended to the locker room Wednesday morning after practice. The second-year player mixed easily with teammates, taking some good-natured grief from defenseman Ossi Vaananen and chatting with assistant equipment manager Terry Geer. Budaj shrugged off praise over his performance Tuesday against the Red Wings, a 40-save effort that got the Avs a point.
“Yesterday’s game is over,” said Budaj, who is 2-0-1 in his past three starts and will make his seventh consecutive start tonight when the Avs play the Calgary Flames at the Pepsi Center. “I learned a little bit, from the past, that you don’t think about the last game the next day. You don’t get hung up on the good games or get hung up on the bad games.”
It is clear, however, that the cumulative effects of his recent outings have made Budaj a more confident player. He enters tonight’s important divisional game with a 12-8-2 record, a 2.42 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. His goals-against average ranked ninth in the NHL entering Wednesday, and his save percentage is just outside the top 10.
He has made Jose Theodore – a former Hart Trophy winner making $5.5 million this season – look expendable. Budaj is just a kid at 24, but is fast assuming the role of The Man in the dressing room and among fans. Since he entered a game in the third period against Dallas to cheers Dec. 27 in relief of Theodore, Budaj has not relinquished the starting spot.
“It feels nice when people are telling you, ‘Good job,’ but you should not take it for something really, really big,” Budaj said. “You should always remember when you’re doing well that there were times when you were not doing too well.”
For Budaj, that includes a disastrous start for the Avs, in a 2002 preseason game against Dallas in which he allowed six goals in fewer than 30 minutes after replacing Roy. It includes some tough games, including one last season when he allowed six goals to the Red Wings, and a game this season at Dallas when he was the culprit in a 5-4 loss.
Budaj is an interesting mix – a devout Christian and cocksure pro athlete. He enjoys some of the finer things in life, including a custom-made Audi, but has a sense of humor about his religious image, wearing an image of Ned Flanders from “The Simpsons” on the back of his goalie mask – a nickname hung on him by Geer.
“He’s a good kid. I like his work ethic and his preparation,” Avs coach Joel Quenneville said. “I like his approach to the game. I think he’s more like a streamlined forward or defenseman than a typical goaltender. He’s confident, but I wouldn’t (call him) cocky. There’s a difference. I just think he’s gotten better every day. He’s progressed to where he’s absorbing more responsibility and has improved every single year.”
Replacing the high-priced Theodore might create an awkward locker-room atmosphere, but Budaj said Theodore has helped him feel comfortable.
“I can’t be thankful enough to him. I’m pretty sure that there can be some goalies that can make (for) a miserable time when they’re not playing, but not him,” Budaj said. “Jose, I’m pretty sure he wants to play, but he’s working hard and he supports me.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
