Colorado May Struggle Without Anderson

What else can go wrong for Craig Anderson?

After suffering a freak knee-injury in warm-ups on October 26, Anderson was the victim of a groin injury Wednesday against Vancouver.  The knee injury came when Anderson was doing a routine wrap-up in warm-ups that consists of all of the Avalanche skaters converging on Anderson in the crease, trying to shove a puck past him.  But Anderson came out of the shuffle with a knee injury that sidelined him ten games, in which the Avalanche went 6-3-1 and outscored their opponents 38-27 during his absence.  Anderson came back with a swift punch to the New York Rangers, stopping 25 out of 26 shots, including a fantastic sprawling save on Marc Staal in the slot.  The Avalanche went on to demolish the Rangers 5-1.  Things were looking very bright in Denver, as the Avalanche played brilliantly without Anderson, and then the star goalie makes a return in a convincing win.  Things sure can change in just a few short days.

After backup Peter Budaj played great in a 4-3 overtime win in Dallas, Anderson got another chance to shine the very next night.  Things did not go the way that head coach Joe Sacco and company had expected.  Anderson left with a groin injury, and it was serious enough to sideline Anderson again, as well as force the Avalanche to call up goaltender Jason Bacashihua from Lake Erie of the AHL the next day.  Budaj and the Avalanche lost the game as well, 4-2.

Anderson was not the only loss; captain Adam Foote was sidelined with a leg injury.

"Footer is our captain, our leader, and Andy was our most valuable player last year," forward Matt Duchene said. "It's tough without them."

While Anderson is just 4-4-0 this season, he has still posted strong goaltending numbers.  His .911 save percentage and 2.89 goals-against-average are not too shabby despite having four losses, but losing a star goalie for an extended period of time can be devastating to any team.  While the Avalanche came together and got some great team wins without Anderson last time, it is difficult to say that it could be emulated again.  Anderson’s 38-25-7 record, along with his .917 save percentage, was a driving force for the Avalanche’s surprising playoff-run last season.  So can they get by with Budaj?

While Budaj has posted nine wins this season, his numbers leave something to be desired.  He has a save percentage just under .900 (.899 currently), with a GAA getting close to 3.00 (2.92 currently).  These are not exactly starter-material statistics.  A common Budaj-play came in the Avalanche’s recent 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Wild, when Kyle Brodziak took a wrist shot from Budaj’s left that was unscreened and went untouched, yet strangely bounced off Budaj and found its way into the net. 

Colorado has found the offense to battle their goaltending woes though.  They currently lead the NHL in goals-for-per-game with 3.52.  But the team finds struggles defensively, as they are currently ranked 26^th in the league with 3.09 goals-against-per-game.  It is unreasonable to think that the offense can keep up this monstrous pace all season though.

Simply put, Budaj must be better while Anderson is injured.  If he cannot get it done, Colorado needs to look at other resources to ensure that a strong net-minder will be manning the pipes every game.  Jason Bacashihua has minimal NHL experience, but his numbers with the Lake Erie Monsters this season are not too shabby (7-5-2 record with a .911 save percentage and a 2.27 GAA). 

One thing is for sure: Craig Anderson has to stay healthy to keep the Avalanche in the playoff picture.  Currently in eighth place in the Western Conference, an extended period of time without Anderson could mean a drastic drop in the standings.