Peter Budaj outdueled Roberto Luongo tonight as the Colorado Avalanche downed the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in a shootout.
The Avalanche started off strong but Robert Luongo was up to the task and shut the Avs down at every opportunity. The Avs fired off 16 shots in the first period but Luongo made it look like a day at the beach.
In the second period, it was the Peter Budaj show as the Canucks turned up the pressure. It took a penalty shot for the Canucks to finally get one past him.
In the third, it was a bit more give-and-go and both Budaj and Luongo came up huge for their teams. Budaj's most memorable save was robbing Henrik Sedin on a cross crease pass on the PP. For Luongo, he saved his team's bacon with just 1.9 seconds left as he robbed Wojtek Wolski on a one-timer off a great pass from T.J. Hensick.
The OT solved nothing and it was off to a shootout. I think I heard Jib let out a stifled roar. But the Avs took the win off of goals from Wolski and Marek Svatos while Budaj turned away 2 of 3 attempts.
It was a whale of a game and great way for the Avs to kick off their three game road trip. I'll put up more notes tomorrow but the one extra thing I will add...Ruslan Salei had his best game of the year tonight.
And Blaine won the bet. But his team still lost. So I win.
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8 Comments:
I was wondering if you would mention me in your post. I must be famous or something.
So, Avs fans, what should I buy with the $5 I just won from Shane?
Oh - I'm more of a Roy fan than a Luongo fan, so the Avs are a close 2nd for me.
I still remember staying up really late to watch game 4 in 95/96. Guess how old I was.
I think I heard Jib let out a stifled roar.
More like a passive-aggressive sigh. Seriously, it was a shame either goalie had to "lose" this game.
1) I loathe the games that start at 10pm EST. It always makes the next day soooooooooooooo long for me.
2) Shane, I know you aren't one of the huge Budaj fans, but I would think after last night he had to shown you something. I thought he had a great game last night and he really showed what he is capable of.
3) *Yawn*. I love the shootout but hate it in games that start at 10pm EST :)
This was one of those games where the shootout was kind of anticlimactic. I wouldn't have minded that one ending in a tie at all. I think everyone would have still felt like they got their money/time's worth with a tie. Too bad someone had to lose it, at least it was the right team that lost. Loved at the end of OT when Ryan Smyth flipped the puck at Luongo and into his glove. Not sure if everyone saw that or not. It wasn't meant to be disrespectful or anything, Smyth was just having some fun. You could see Luongo smile underneath his mask. I'm sure they've spent plenty of time together on the Canadian national teams they've played on together. Don't get to see players interact like that on the ice during games that much. That was cool. Thanks for all you do Shane, you're the man! BTW, if you haven't gotten Episode #34 yet, you'll need to wait until Sunday. Out of bandwidth, stupid Podomatic. I guess I'll need to pay for more monthly bandwidth sooner or later, as much as I don't want to. Oh well...
Blaine, you're just lucky I'm sick today so I can't get my revenge in the street hockey game ;)
jib, yep, it's tough to have to hang an L on either goaltender by way of a skills competition.
jed, I hear ya. I'm not as young as I once was and it seems midnight is my limit these days. I remember the old days of going to sleep at 3am and being at work on time no problem the next day.
i wouldn't say I'm a huge Budaj fan - yet - but I did believe he was capable of much more, including putting in performances like this every few games. It really looks like he's turned a corner the last couple games and I'm pretty excited.
I know Granato wants to give Raycroft a game once a week but Budaj appears in the zone right now so I hope he stays in.
And I think jib just threw up a little when you said you love the shootout ;)
jay, you bet. Anybody who would feel "robbed" after a game like that should give their head a shake.
Yeah, I caught the puck flip and looked close to see if Luongo was ticked or not. The way he flashed his glove out, it looked a bit pissy but yeah, he seemed to be smiling beneath the mask.
And hey, running out of bandwidth is a good thing, right!
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