When I heard that Andrew Raycroft would be between the pipes for Colorado last night against the Detroit Red Wings, I immediately went out and bought a party hat, and put some Bambino on ice.
You see, I figured Raycroft was going to get shelled with the loss (I was thinking seven goals on 35 shots), waived this morning, and be languishing in the minors, where he belongs, by tonight.
I was ready for a celebration. Ready for sweet justice to be served. Ready for Raycroft to be outed once and for all as the fraudulent goaltender that I know he is.
Instead, much to my dismay (and not really to my surprise), the game didn't exactly go the way I thought it would.
Raycroft shone like never before. Or at least like he hasn't shone in a long, long, really long time. He stopped 34 of 36 shots, including 14 of 15 in the third period, and kept Detroit's top-ranked power play - humming along at 29.2% going into yesterday's game - at bay through five opportunities. Raycroft's nine saves on the penalty kill were huge, and he was, unfathomably, named the game's first star.
Andrew Raycroft. Named number one star. Let that sink in for a second.
Has that ever even happened before? I'm way too lazy to check and find out, but I'm going to have to say no. Needless to say, it was an out of body experience for the much-maligned Avalanche goaltender. It had to have been. It's the only rational explanation.
To add insult to injury, Raycrap's win came against, well, the Detroit Red Wings. You know, the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. And in Detroit, to boot, where the Wings had won five in a row.
Un-fucking-believable.
Mind-blowingly, Raycroft has now won four of the five games he's started for Colorado this season. Lest you forget, that's double his win total of last season with the Maple Leafs. Thanks to his epic performance last night, our good friend Andrew Joseph Ernest is now sporting a tidy .870 save percentage along with his four glorious victories.
Curtis Joseph, on the other hand, has yet to win a game, and is walking around with a pathetic .851 save percentage to his name.
I was dreading this day. The day Cujo's save percentage is actually lower than Raycroft's. It has arrived, and I think I'm going to be sick.
10 comments:
I guess you have to go and blame some of Rayroft's Leaf performance on the blue line. The defense in front of him last year just wasn't that good.
Good for him though.
If you watched the Leafs last year then you know that blaming the defence isn't fair in this case.
Last night Raycroft got ridiculously lucky. He continued his amazing habit of overcommitting and sliding past plays but the Red Wings (!?!?!!) fired pucks into his outstretched hand like I've never seen before.
I've got to agree with PPP here. Toskala was able to put up a .900 save percentage with that same defense core, while Raycroft played in 19 games, starting 14 of them, and won 2.
By all accounts, PPP's right, and it was Jason Blake-like shooting fest in Detroit last night - shots to the logo, one after the other.
Raycroft's shit. His numbers prove it. He's just getting offense right now. It will dry up. It has to.
Fucking Raycroft.
Budaj is starting tonight for the Avs... if he stinks it up, look for them to come back with Raycrap again on Thursday against Tampa.
Curtis Joseph plays for the Maple Leafs? Jesus.
If Raycroft does play against Tampa, he'll probably get his ass kicked, and the universe will right itself.
Stephen, that ain't Curtis Joseph backing up Toskala. I don't know who that impostor is. The Cujo I know ran shit between the pipes. It's tough to watch.
Schultzy, if I've told you once I've told you a million times: you are wise.
Stephen Amell - "Curtis Joseph plays for the Maple Leafs? Jesus." That was gold Jerry, gold.
eyebleaf - Age does some strange things to the human body and it's athletic ability. Also, I was a backer of Raycroft because of his age and what he did when he was younger but I am officially off that boat. Back-up or 3rd string goalie is what you have to call him.
It is only one game, if he continues this for 5-10 games then we should be shocked. Even a clock that is broken is correct twice a day. Please don't give me that AM/PM business!
On The Fence Sports
3 in a row for the Leafs!
Thu, Dec 18 Budaj may have lost the starting goalie position for the Avs, according to the Denver Post.
Recommendation: This is nothing more than speculation at this point, as backup Andrew Raycroft will start for the second time in three games on Thursday against Tampa Bay. While this could be seen as a demotion for Budaj, it is likely nothing more than Avs coach Tony Granato playing his backup goalie against a weaker opponent - the Lightning currently own the NHL's worst record, and Raycroft does sport an 8-1-1 career record against them. Either way, we don't think Raycroft can sustain the kind of play that would be necessary to hold onto the #1 job for any length of time, so Budaj should be back starting on a regular basis soon.
(Rotowire.com)
Thursday, Dec. 18th:
Avalanche 2, Lightning 1, SO
3rd Star: ANDREW RAYCROFT 37 saves.
OUCH!!!
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