After Tuesday’s loss to the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy decided to make a change in net. Calvin Pickard would assume the starting role going forward. The duration he would hold that title, however, would seemingly remain up to him.
His first test came on Thursday, when the Avalanche faced the Florida Panthers. The test would prove a difficult one, and Pickard would pass with flying colors.
Pickard would be bombarded with 40 shots, casting aside 38 of them en route to a 3-2 victory and first star of the game honors. He would even chip in offensively, picking up an assist on Gabriel Landeskog’s first period goal.
The real story would come in the final frame, however, when he would stop all 24 shots he faced. The 24 saves would eclipse Roy’s own mark by one, setting a new franchise mark for stops in a period.
“’Picks’ seems to rise to the occasion,” said Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie. “It creates a bit of havoc when they’re just firing from everywhere, but we did a good job keeping them to the outside, and when they did get in, ‘Picks’ stood tall.”
When Pickard was told of his accomplishment, he nonchalantly shrugged it off; instead, he gave the credit to his teammates.
“We had some great performances,” said Pickard. “We had some good blocked shots and good sticks getting tied up … boxouts. It was a full team effort to get those two points.”
Even though Pickard was quick to share credit, he plays extremely confidently on the ice. His head coach wasn’t quite so modest when talking about his young goaltender.
“’Pick’ was phenomenal,” said Roy. “He made some key saves. The thing that I like about him is his swagger. He seems very confident right now.”
Not bad for a goaltender who started the season with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Pickard did enough when called upon to earn the backup job, then he did enough to take control of the crease. Roy did not go as far as to name Pickard the starter, even for Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators, but it appears as if the crease may indeed be his to lose.
“The way he played tonight,” explained Roy. “I guess it’s going to be a tough call to go a different way.”