If you suggest the Avalanche has a goaltending controversy, expect a reaction from coach Joe Sacco similar to the one you’d get if you say he’s a former Boston College Eagle — rather than an ex-Boston University Terrier. He’s incredulous. “There’s no gray, no controversy here,” Sacco said Tuesday at Family Sports Center. “Craig is the No. 1 goalie.”
Despite Craig Anderson’s recent struggles and Sacco’s use of backup Peter Budaj in the net against Detroit on Monday in the first game after the Christmas break, Sacco insists:
• The goaltending pecking order hasn’t changed.
• He hasn’t lost faith in Anderson.
• He isn’t worried about the Avalanche’s overall goaltending going forward.
“With Craig, I think he’s going to be fine,” Sacco said. “To me, there’s no gray area. He’s our No. 1 goalie. I’ve said this before: I thought Peter deserved to play (Monday), and I thought Peter was fine. But Craig right now is working hard in practice. He’s trying to get himself back on track. I’m confident that he will. Our organization and his teammates are confident that he will.”
After signing a two-year, $3.6 million contract with Colorado as an unrestricted free agent last year, grabbing the chance to prove himself as a No. 1 goalie, Anderson was so strong in the first half of the season, he seemed one of the biggest bargains in the NHL and also a legitimate Vezina Trophy candidate. He didn’t keep that up, but he still was a capable starter and had an amazing 51-save shutout in the team’s first-round playoff loss to San Jose.
But this season, he hasn’t lived up to those high standards. With a two-game Alberta road trip coming up, he has a 3.21 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage — both wince-inducing. A minor knee injury and a groin-muscle problem knocked him out of the lineup for brief stretches, but even when healthy, he has shown only flashes of his strong play of 2009-10.
Budaj is at 3.05 and also is below the Astrom Line, with a .897 save percentage.
Team issues enter the equation, too, considering the Avalanche was the highest-scoring team in the league through Monday’s games, and that represents a team stylistic character, as well as speed and firepower. Also, Colorado’s defensive corps is, in general, “undersized,” placing additional burdens on the goaltenders. Last year, though, Anderson was up to the challenges of frequent barrages.
“The object of the game is to win hockey games,” Anderson said. “The last couple of times I was in there, I didn’t do that. The next opportunity I get in there, I have to do the job. My confidence is good.”
Anderson has backed up or been in organizations with a bevy of respected goalies, including Nikolai Khabibulin, Ed Belfour and Tomas Vokoun. “I played with a lot of guys who were in the league for a long time, and you’re not in the league for a long time if you have a long-term memory,” Anderson said. “Those guys have taught me well and bounced back, and that was the one main thing you take from those guys. They never have a bad couple of days; they’re right back at it, doing the work, and the next start is their best one.”
Sacco said he hasn’t pondered what it would take for Anderson to lose the No. 1 job to Budaj — short- or long-term.
“I don’t think like that,” Sacco said. “I think the other way. I think Craig is going to work himself back into the goaltender that we know he can be, and it starts in practice. That’s what he’s been doing lately. He’s been working extremely hard in practice, and I think his attention to detail on every drill has been excellent. That’s the way you get yourself out of something when you don’t think it’s going right.”
Also, Anderson is in a contract year, so he’s playing for a new deal — with the Avalanche or someone else, since he can again be an unrestricted free agent July 1. “Every time you step on the ice, you’re playing for a contract, whether you’re in the first year of a four-year deal or the fourth year of a four-year deal,” Anderson said. “We’re very fortunate to play a game we love. It’s a kids’ game. If you don’t respect that and have fun playing it, you shouldn’t be playing. I come to the rink with a passion every day and come out here and have fun with the guys. I worry about things I can control.”
Bring up a possible goaltending controversy to Budaj, and the Slovak veteran laughs. “That’s a question for the coaches,” he said. “Our job as goalies is to help the team win hockey games, and you don’t focus on anything else. That’s the mind-set I want to have, that whenever I get a chance to play, I’ll try to be there for the team and help us win.”
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
