Theodore Plays Like Worthy Heir

You can usually hear ex-Montreal Canadien goalies coming, the truly great ones anyway. Their Stanley Cup jewelry tends to rattle.

Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, Jacques Plante, legends all. Even the Vezina Trophy, the award given to the NHL’s top goalie each season, is named after Georges Vezina, Canadien goalie.

Into that hallowed crease stepped Jose Theodore Monday. What he did against the Ducks was a rarity. He blanked Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne in a 2-1 Canadien victory at the Pond.

Theodore completely smothered two players who have scored 759 points in their careers. They had 10 shots between them and nothing to show for it.

“I had a chance to play for the Canadiens when I was 20,” the 23-year-old Theodore said. “There is a lot of tradition here for goalies. It took awhile to know how to deal with it. But good things happen to people who work hard.”

Theodore put in a day’s sweat Monday. He stopped 30 of 31 shots, many of which where lasers from unchecked Ducks. It might have meant a lot to him personally, but Theodore was more concerned with the big picture.

The ax dangles--almost permanently--over General Manager Rejean Houle and Coach Alain Vigneault. Seven players are out with injuries.

Theodore held that mess together with his second consecutive brilliant game, and his second victory of the season. He stopped 30 of 33 shots in a 5-3 victory over the Kings Saturday.

Ted Donato was the only Duck to solve Theodore Monday. Donato scooped up the puck in the Ducks’ end and was off, going the length of the ice and beating Theodore with an exceptional backhand.

“It’s important that we get some wins right now,” said Theodore, who stopped a six-game winless streak on Saturday. “It’s a chance for the young guys to play, including me. The young guys have to step it up.”

Theodore was expected to lead such a youth movement when the Canadiens made him a second-round pick in 1994, the year after they won their last Stanley Cup championship. He was to be the next Roy. So far, he has been a poor imitation.

“I want to be a solid No. 1 goalie,” said Theodore, who has a 11-22-2 NFL record. “You look around the league now and the top goalies don’t really mature until they’re 25, 26, 27. I’m 23. I just need to improve.”

It would be hard to better his performance Monday. It was only his sixth start this season, as he has mainly been used to back up Jeff Hackett. Theodore lost his first four games before beating the Kings, which earned him another start.

“I had to show I had confidence in him,” Vigneault said. “The players had to show they had confidence in him.”

They had a funny way to show it; Duck players used Theodore for target practice.

In the second period, the Ducks spent an eternity on the power play, including a five on three for for 32 seconds. They had Theodore scurrying in the crease, with five quality shots. None got past him.

Trouble came calling again late in the period, when Kariya burst in alone. He recoiled as if to shoot, faked, then tried to slip a wrist shot into the left corner. Theodore bit on the move, but managed to reach back and snag the shot with his glove.