I'm back today after a brief hiatus. Ironically, the reason I've been away is not the one I originally planned for. Instead, I've been laid up with the same "middle body injury" that has everyone up in arms over - a stomach flu. I've spent most of the last few days laid up on the couch watching Deadwood on DVD, so bear with me, you cocksuckers, as I bring myself up to speed.
You might think that my recent bout with the flu would put me in the pro-Budaj camp along with Joe, Shane, many Avalanche fans and the entire population of Mo(ron)town. And you'd be wrong.
To me, this "controversy" has a few facets. Was Theodore healthy enough to start game 1? Is he the reason we lost games 1 and 2? And should he be the guy in game 3?
I think the first is a no-brainer, despite the outcome. The flu may have had me immobilized, but you need to keep in mind one important fact: I am a big baby. Jose Theodore is a hockey player and hockey players don't miss games because of the flu. If he was able to play, he needed to be in there. And we all know he would have been skewered mercilessly if he had missed game 1 for something lame like the flu. Plain and simple, Theodore HAS to start game 1 unless he's hurt. And anyone saying they wouldn't have started them is being disingenuous.
I also take umbrage with the idea that Theodore is to blame for the two losses. The guys in front of him have played terrible hockey. I don't care who is in net, you give the Wings chances like the Avs have and you will get lit up. You can certainly single out Theo for a couple of specific goals, but it's irrelevant. The Wings have had so many chances that the outcome of the first two chapters would have been the same even if the story was changed a bit.
And yes, I know Budaj has stopped 39 of the 40 shots he's faced. I think we have to keep in mind that Budaj came in to both games with the Wings already in control. He's played very well in both games (as you know, I'm a Budaj fan and expected nothing less), but you still can't compare the competition he's faced to the competition thrown at Theodore.
Personally, I don't think this is a difficult choice. Theodore gives us the best chance to win. It's that simple. Will we win? I'm not betting on it - it feels like the wheels are starting to come off the bus. If we do lose game 3 - a real possibility, considering we've lost the last 7 2nd round games - I don't think Theodore will be the cause.