It’s hard to think that’s the case, but we’ve all torn at least a little hair out over Peter Budaj over the last couple years. Take a look at the lines so far:
PLAYER Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â GP Â Â Â W Â Â Â L Â Â Â GAA Â Â Â TOI Â Â Â SV Â Â Â SV%
Peter Budaj           3   0   3   4.38   178:06   61   .824
Andrew Raycroft    2   2   0   3.01   119:42   64   .914
That’s right. Raycroft is 2-0, Budaj is 0-3. Neither goalie has played that particularly well. Even Raycrofts 3 GAA is going to be a bit hairy, at least for such a small sampling as 2 games. Budaj gets the call tonight against the Kings, and I don’t care what Granato says publicly, he’s going to have to see some better results or else Budaj will once again find himself riding the pine more often than not.
Goaltending aside, let’s be clear that the team has played well. They’ve been aggressive, Joe has been a scoring machine (at least in the assists category), and overall we’ve seen a solid brand of hockey that will only get sharper as the season wears on. Hopefully, they can stay healthy, because while I’m not ready to crown them division champs just yet, I like what I’m seeing and think the Avs stand a good chance of improving on last year’s 2nd round playoff exit.
Thoughts?
