Colorado Avalanche Talk (aka Avs Talk)

UPDATE: Another pasted blog comment below.

I said this earlier on A2Y and I'll just repeat it verbatim here as I don't have the time to formulate any more thoughts on the topic.

I think starting Theodore is going to blow up in JQ’s face. All it’s going to take is an early goal by the Wings to completely deflate the Avalanche.

If Budaj was in net and an early goal was scored, it’s easy to write off as jitters and push it out of your mind. With Theodore, his psyche and the team’s confidence in him seem to be at the point just before the straw breaks its back.

If Theodore does end up coming through and playing out of his mind - which he’ll need to for the Avs to win - JQ will look like a genius but I’ll still assume he just got lucky wink

It’s mildly ironic that most Avs fans pissed and moaned - myself included - when Q would swap goaltenders willy-nilly through his tenure with the Avalanche and now we’re pissing and moaning that he won’t do that. However it’s two completely different scenarios as there is no more margin for error.

UPDATE:
I made this comment at ITCS where DD feels Theodore is the only logical choice. And since I'm lazy (actually in a meeting where I'm half paying attention) I'll do another paste job.

I don’t think starting Theodore is a terrible idea. But I do fear that one goal is all it will take to break this squad. With Budaj in, an automatic one-goal buffer is added to that breaking point.

That’s my main concern over starting Theodore. I could be overestimating the teams fragility but based on game 2, they didn’t appear to have anything left in the tank after goal number 3.

When it was announced Theodore was starting this game, I certainly wasn’t upset. I think either goaltender is a reasonable choice at this point but if Theodore is still feeling the effects of the flu, he simply should not be playing. And certainly should not have gone in the dressing room.

Manning up in this situation is completely different for a goaltender. A forward/defenceman can slack off a bit while on the ice but a goaltender cannot have any slack, especially against the Wings. When the flu takes you down, you can’t will your muscles to move that glove hand faster or push across the crease with more speed.

And it seemed pretty evident that this was the problem in game 1. His movements were sluggish, he was slow to react and his head didn’t appear to be in the game.

While I appreciate that Theodore is the #1 goaltender, there is no loyalty when it comes to winning. So I hope Q made this choice based on performance, not based on loyalty.