Peter Budaj was the only Avalanche goaltender on the ice for practice Wednesday; Craig Anderson had the day off. As he usually does, Budaj stayed out long after the conclusion of the team work, playing the foil for the lingering skaters and a mixture of serious individual work and horseplay.
This season, Budaj has started only eight games. The conclusion is unavoidable: Avs coach Joe Sacco, who praises Budaj’s attitude and professionalism, has little confidence in him.
Anderson has had a remarkable season. Yet there have been many instances when starting Budaj made sense — most notably when Colorado played on back-to-back nights. Still, Sacco has gone with Anderson, hoping he can hold up and thrive in the tradition of current workhorses such as Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo.
“We all have the same goal, to go as far as we can and make the playoffs,” Budaj said. “It’s tough not to take it personally, but I’m not.
“It’s a tough topic for me to talk about. I respect the coaches. I respect their decisions. On the other hand, I think I’m capable of playing. I’m going to continue to work hard and respect the decisions.”
The most games Anderson, 28, has played in a pro season is 58. Before this season, his highest NHL single-season total was 31. Of course, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been physically capable of holding up to play more games; it means he wasn’t given the chance.
“I’m not taking anything away from Craig,” Budaj said. “He’s in the zone. He’s playing great. He’s winning games.”
Even in Patrick Roy’s heyday, though, it was fairly easy to predict when he would get nights off — on one of the nights in back-to-back sets.
In this case, the Olympic break is coming up, too. Budaj will be playing for Slovakia while Anderson will get time off after being snubbed in the selections for the U.S. team.
After the break, six weeks will remain in the NHL season. In part to avoid diminishing returns with Anderson, the Avalanche should settle into a pattern of using Budaj — whose statistics in his limited work actually are marginally better than Anderson’s — in at least those “predictable” backup situations. That means in such instances as in one game of a back-to-back set, or at least once in a four-game week.
Budaj hasn’t shown himself capable of being a 65-game-a-season No. 1. Yet he has demonstrated he can be a decent backup, capable of throwing in a strong game or streaks of excellence. Even with the playoff race in mind, the Avs would be better off in the long run to give him more work down the stretch.
