Budaj in Top Form; Avs Beat Stars 4-1

There are few back-up goaltenders in the NHL better than Peter Budaj, and he proved it once again in a 39-save effort against the Dallas Stars Saturday night. He made save after impressive save using the strengths he has always had: athleticism and positioning. It’s incredible that in one season, the Colorado Avalanche have gone from having the worst goaltending tandem in the league to one of the best.

Peter Budaj is proving to be a more than capable back-up goaltender for the 1st place Colorado Avalanche

Budaj it seems is one of those special goaltenders who can be sharp, even if he is only used sparingly. Conversely, he actually seems to wear down if he is played too much, as we saw last year. Craig Anderson, on the other hand, thrives under the workload. He has always played his best when he faces at lot of shots, and that’s as true now as it was when he played in Florida. Time will tell if he’ll be able to handle the workload of a starting goaltender for an entire season, something Budaj failed to do last year.

Peter Budaj is now the 3rd winningest goaltender ever for the Colorado Avalanche. No. 1 is the greatest goaltender of all time, Patrick Roy, and no. 2 was the goaltender who followed him, David Aebischer.

There was a lot of scrutiny from the media and fans when the Avs decided to re-sign him this offseason, but Budaj so far has been rewarding that decision with career highs in both Save % (.927) and GAA (2.22).

NOTES: Chris Stewart had another strong outing in what is becoming a very impressive breakout season for him. With the 2 goals he scored against Dallas, Stewart has now matched his goal total from last year with 11, and also has six more assists in 18 less games.

Even more impressive is Wojtek Wolski, who has scored 15 goals so far this season, already one more than last year in 38 less games.