NHL Preview:
Notable Goaltending Duels 2009-10
by Gaby Martinez
Hockeytalk.biz
September 29, 2009
Anaheim Ducks
J. S.
Giguere, for the first time in his career, let his emotions interfere with
his playing time. Due to his father’s death, Giguere attended his funeral
in Montreal. Rightly so, his focus never recovered and he was only one game
above .500 with a 19-18-6 record.
With a regular season
record of 23-15-1, Jonas Hiller was given the nod to play in the playoffs
from Coach Carlyle. He led the Ducks past the President Trophy winning, San
Jose Sharks in the first round. In the second round, he gave the Ducks a
legitimate chance of beating the defending
champion, Detroit Red Wings.
“We're not casting
Giguere out by the wayside,” Carlyle told ESPN.com. “I told both of them,
‘You're going to have to earn it.’ Neither of them has been anointed the No.
1 goalie.”
Washington Capitals
It has
been only 6 seasons since Jose Theodore posted record numbers of 30-24-10
with Montreal and won the Vezina and Hart Trophies. It seems like ages to
Theodore fans. Last season, he was inconsistent during the regular season.
After Jose Theodore’s
opening playoff game loss to the Rangers on April 15th, Semyon
Varlamov played in the next 13 playoff games while posting 2 shutouts to tie
for the lead with Hiller. Varlamov helped the Capitals erase a 3-1 deficit
against the Rangers to win the series, but he couldn’t get past the flaming
hot Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Varly came
in and did a great job where we just couldn't take him out,” said coach
Bruce Boudreau.
Colorado Avalanche
Peter
Budaj attempted to prove that he is a starting goaltender, but with only 20
wins, he is not ready yet. Since his 31 wins in the 2006-2007 season, Budaj
has yet to repeat those numbers. Colorado GM Greg Sherman gave Budaj
another chance when he re-signed him this past off-season.
In case Budaj does not
produce, Sherman signed Craig Anderson. Anderson put up decent numbers as a
backup to Tomas Vokoun with a 15-7-5 record. He was third in the league
with a .924 save percentage.
Will the goaltending
be solid enough to earn playoff contention? That is the question of the
moment in the Denver hockey world.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vesa
Toskala had both hip and groin surgeries forcing him to play only 53 games
with a 22-17-11 record. Posting a high 3.26 goals-against average, Toskala
did not help the Maple Leafs’ chances of making the playoffs.
“He’s [Toskala’s] got to go out there
and prove again that he's capable of being a No. 1 goalie,” said Coach
Wilson. “He’s got to do the work. It’s not about an injury
anymore...go out there and prove that when healthy you’re capable of being
the No. 1 goalie.”
GM Brian
Burke signed the “The Monster” Jonas Gustavsson from Sweden. In the Swedish
Elite League [SEL] regular season, he posted a 1.96 goals-against average.
In the playoffs, he had a 1.03 GAA and led the Farjestad team to the SEL
title. He underwent a minor heart surgery on Tuesday that Wilson says is
“fairly common.”
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