Aebischer invited to rare Garden party

Avs' backup goalie to start against Rangers

By Terry Frei
Denver Post Sports Writer

Thursday, January 30, 2003 - NEW YORK - David Aebischer is familiar with the reaction by now: "Roy's not playing!"

When the Colorado Avalanche is on the road and he is announced as the starting goaltender, when he steps onto the ice and charges toward his crease, or when late-arriving fans settle into their seats, there often are exclamations of disappointment.

Most often, it happens against second-tier teams or in second-tier cities, or both. After all, Patrick Roy not only is an elite player, the all-time leader in wins and games played at his position, but he luxuriates in the spotlight - and his coaches have known it. So tonight, when Aebischer is scheduled to play against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden, it will be the rare example of the Swiss backup getting a start in a high-profile game.

The schedule and Roy's recent resurgence were the crucial issues involved. The conventional Colorado pattern would have been for Aebischer to play at Columbus on Tuesday night and Roy to come back in the Garden, where his (greatly exaggerated) discussion with the goalposts in the 1986 playoffs and his phenomenal play in a wildly entertaining against the Rangers were among the leading edges of his legend.

But in part because Roy had two straight shutouts and was in the process of coming out of a rare lapse of confidence, he played Tuesday in the 2-2 tie at Columbus, much to the surprise of many Columbus fans, who are accustomed to seeing Roy ensconced at the end of the bench with a towel and no mask.

"With the way Patty's gone, you want to play him as many games as you can," Colorado coach Tony Granato said. "He's playing great, he's on the top of his game, but you can't play him every night. And David, whenever he's called upon, steps up and does a great job.

"Anytime we ask him, no matter what the situation, whether we're a beat-up tired squad at the end of back-to-back games, he always steps forward. He's a reliable guy to have, and I think it's a luxury for this organization and this coaching staff to have him."

Coaching sometimes involves the nurturing of sensitive players and egos, and the fact is that the 25-year-old Aebischer's play in his two-plus seasons as Roy's backup is worthy of mixed reviews. Last season, Aebischer was 14-8 with a sterling 1.88 goals-against average, but he still was inconsistent and he often played against shaky teams.

This season, he is 4-8, with half the losses coming in one-point overtime defeats. His goals-against average of 2.29 and save percentage of .911 are decent, but his tendency to give up early goals occasionally resurfaces, as it did in a 4-1 home loss to Florida on Jan. 2. Since, he played well in his only start, a 3-2 Colorado overtime win at Carolina that qualified as two points stolen by a quality goaltending performance.

Aebischer played the final 28 minutes of the game last season in New York, relieving Roy after the veteran goaltender allowed five goals on 18 shots as his shutout streak ended at three games. The rest of that game was garbage time, but Aebischer stopped all 13 shots he faced.

He has had one taste of playing in the Garden, but unless plans change, tonight will be his first start.

"It's a special place. I know there's always a couple of Swiss people there," Aebischer said with a laugh. "It's going to be fun, for sure. It's a rink you hear a lot about, even over in Europe. Every great artist in the world has played there, and everything big that plays indoors has been there.

"But you just have to play your game. It's a very good team offensively we will be playing, and you have to pay attention."

Avalanche assistant coach Jacques Cloutier, who handles the defensemen, was a goalie for 12 seasons in the NHL, and he remembers his first start in the Garden - when he was with Buffalo in 1982.

"It was a 2-2 tie," he said. "That was a great night for me. For me, coming from Quebec, the Montreal Forum was so special. But as far as playing in the States, Madison Square Garden was unreal."

Cloutier said Aebischer's first Garden start "can be a learning experience. In the future, he's going to have to be the man to do it, and that's how you become a top goaltender, playing those types of games. It's a great experience for him."

After tonight's game, both Roy and Aebischer will head to South Florida. Roy will start for the Western Conference in Sunday's All-Star Game, and Aebischer will play Saturday in the abbreviated, running-time Young Stars Game.

But at this point, the jury is still out on whether Aebischer or Phil Sauve, who is having a terrific season at Hershey, is the leading in-house candidate to take over the No. 1 job when Roy retires. Roy has one option season left on his contract, and it's virtually certain he will return for at least one more season.

"Since David has been with us, he's been progressing every year," said Cloutier, who also served as an assistant under Marc Crawford and Bob Hartley. "This year, his record, because of the overtime losses, doesn't show the way he has played. He has played pretty solid. The Florida game was one of the worst games he has had with us, but in that next game (Carolina), he was strong. That shows what kind of character he has."

In the tie Tuesday at Columbus, the Avs went up against Roy's previous "heir apparent," Marc Denis, who was traded to the Blue Jackets before the 2000 expansion draft and has been the Columbus workhorse this season. Denis had to go elsewhere to be a No. 1 goalie, and the uncertain timetable for Roy's retirement raises the possibility that the same might be true for Aebischer.

"We're going to see what Patrick's going to do after the season," Aebischer said. "It's his decision. I have to be patient. I would rather play on a team like this and wait maybe one or two years longer than to play with another team."