The Avalanche has enjoyed many great playoff goaltending performances over the years. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have two Stanley Cups in the company trophy case. Avalanche reporter Adrian Dater ranks the five best:
1. Game 4, 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, at Florida
It remains the gold standard of Avalanche playoff netminding performan- ces. Patrick Roy stopped all 63 Panthers shots in the triple-overtime, 1-0 victory. Florida’s John Vanbiesbrouck was just as good — until Uwe Krupp’s slap shot from the blue line slipped by him at 4:31 of the third OT.
2. Game 6, 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, at New Jersey
The Avs came into the Meadowlands down 3-2 in the series after a stinging loss in Game 5 at home. The series appeared to be over. The Devils came out flying in Game 6, dominating the first period. But Patrick Roy was unbeatable, finishing with a 4-0 shutout, and the Avs went on to win Game 7.
3. Game 5, 2006 Western Conference quarterfinals, at Dallas
The Avs were outshot 52-30 by the desperate Stars, but Jose Theodore stopped 50 of them in a 3-2 overtime win. That remains the second-highest save total in Avs postseason history. The Avs won in OT when Andrew Brunette beat Stars goaltender Marty Turco.
4. Game 2, 1996 Western Conference finals, at Detroit
The heavily favored Red Wings lost Game 1 to the Avs, but many called it a fluke. Remember when Paul Coffey shot a puck into his own net for Colorado’s first goal? But Roy showed the Avs were for real with a 35-save, 3-0 shutout. Colorado put only 20 shots on Chris Osgood.
5. Game 5, 2008 Western Conference quarterfinals, at Minnesota
It happened only a few days ago, but already it is part of Avalanche lore. Jose Theodore’s brilliance in net stole the pivotal Game 5 at the Xcel Energy Center. His second-period performance was the best of the three, and the Wild seemed demoralized the rest of the series.
