Top 5 Avalanche Goalie Moments from 2014-15

#3. Calvin Pickard Gets the Shootout Win

Dec 11, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard (31) reacts to the shootout win against the Winnipeg Jets at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche defeated the Jets 4-3 in a shootout period. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of memorable goalie celebrations, Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard had his own. On December 11, 2014, the Avalanche hosted the Winnipeg Jets. It was one of those games in which the Avalanche couldn’t get going ahead. Just a few minutes into the third, they were down 3-1, and it wasn’t rookie goalie Calvin Pickard’s fault.

See, it was also one of those games in which the Avalanche couldn’t seem to get enough shots on net, but they sure could allow them. By the end of 65 minutes of play, Pickard had faced 33 shots, allowing three goals in. By contrast, Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec allowed three on just 26 shots.

The game went to the shootout. Both Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene scored for the Colorado Avalanche. Pickard had already stopped Jets shooter Mathieu Perreault. Now he was facing Winnipeg’s gigantic sniper, Blake Wheeler.

Wheeler skates like a gorilla — he’s a big guy. As he hulked down the ice, Pickard set up. With a suddenly deft move, Wheeler tried to sneak the puck in on the backhand. Pickard dropped into the butterfly and batted the puck away with his paddle. For. The. Win.

First Pickard turned himself into a five-point star. Then he effected a fantastic breakdance wave evident even through all his goalie padding: