NASHVILLE, TENN. – It’s official. Tyler Weiman is in the NHL record books forever, although his first NHL game didn’t include the kind of entrance he wanted.
Avs coach Joel Quenneville summoned the rookie goalie to the ice at the 4:14 mark of the third period, after starter Peter Budaj allowed the last of his four goals in a 4-0 loss to the Nashville Predators.
Weiman’s play was about the only bright spot for the Avs. He stopped all 10 shots he faced.
“I got my feet wet, but the No. 1 thing is, we lost,” Weiman said. “I just tried to hold them to no more goals.”
Quenneville, known for his fickle handling of goalies, said Budaj remains his top man. But Quenneville didn’t hesitate to bench Budaj in favor of the rookie.
“I wanted to see how he would handle it, and I thought he did a great job in the net. At that time, it was 4-0, so it was an easy call,” Quenneville said.
Faceoff woes again. As was the case much of last season, the Avs lost the majority of their faceoffs. Nashville won 53 percent of the draws (28-for-53), with Tyler Arnason losing 5-of-7.
Footnotes. The Predators lost valuable defenseman Shea Weber to a first-period leg injury. Weber will be re-evaluated today. … Marek Svatos had five shots on goal for the Avs, tying him with Andrew Brunette for tops on the night. … In what has become a Western Conference trend so far, the Predators failed to sell out their opening night, falling about 700 short of capacity.
