Don't care if Thomas Vokoun turns around and the deposits the puck straight into his own net, Avalanche Coach Joe Sacco is getting the facepalm tonight.
Craig Anderson is starting his 22nd game in a row tonight against the Florida Panthers.
There's a point when the workload becomes too much and was probably reached about last week.
Anderson isn't sharp in net. He's not making good reads, not moving as well and giving up bigger rebounds (look at the first two Sameulsson goals on Tuesday). Anderson must be rested and tonight, against a struggling Florida Panthers team, was the perfect opportunity.
I don't know if coach Joe Sacco just has no faith in Budaj or if he's asking Anderson if he wants to go but Sacco HAS to see that Anderson being tired and run-down while the Avs are in the thick of a playoff battle is not ta smart thing to do.
In that last 22 games, Anderson has also played three sets of back-to-back games, all of them involving travel. That's just too much.
With an Avalanche team that seems to be able to score at least three goals a night more often than not, they'll be able to cover Peter Budaj if he makes a mistake and even if they don't, Anderson still has a night off to recuperate and stay sharp. Losing one game with Budaj to rest Anderson for another five starts is never a bad idea.
Wise up Sacco, it's time you started to be a coach and benched your starting goalie