page_title: Peter Budaj
section_title: Colorado Avalanche
hierarchical_section_title: Peter Budaj / Playing career / Colorado Avalanche
caption_attribution_description: Peter Budaj warming up before a game. Calgary, Alberta
context_page_description: Peter Budaj is a Slovak former professional ice hockey goaltender. He had previously played in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche, by whom he was drafted, the Montreal Canadiens, the Los Angeles Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
  He was known for having the popular character Ned Flanders from The Simpsons painted on his mask.
context_section_description: Budaj was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 draft as the first pick for the Avalanche and 63rd overall. He wore number 31 for the Avalanche after playing for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
  In his first NHL season in 2005–06, he appeared in 34 games while backing up David Aebischer and then José Théodore. He recorded a combined 47 wins in the next two seasons while splitting duties with Théodore. His first NHL playoff appearances came in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs in relief of Théodore in Colorado's second round matchup against the eventual Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings.
  Budaj played his 100th NHL game on 3 November 2007, in a 4–3 home loss against the Vancouver Canucks.
  For the 2008–09 season, Budaj was named the starting goalie for the Colorado Avalanche for the first time. He and backup goaltender Andrew Raycroft struggled throughout the season as the Avalanche finished last in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for the second time in last three seasons.
  On 29 June 2009, Budaj was re-signed by the Avalanche to a one-year contract for the 2009–10 season.  He started the season playing as the Avalanche backup goalie to Craig Anderson, formerly of the Florida Panthers. Before his first appearance in net, Budaj was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus and was completely isolated from the rest of the team until he was cleared to play by the coaching staff. Budaj finally made his first appearance of the season on 4 November, against the Phoenix Coyotes. He stopped 28 of 29 shots and backstopped the Avs to a 4–1 victory. Budaj made his second post season appearance on 22 April 2010 against the San Jose Sharks, when he relieved Craig Anderson at 11:05 in the third period. The Sharks won the game 5–0, with one goal scored against Budaj.
  On 1 April 2011, Budaj became the first Slovakian goaltender to reach 100 career NHL wins with a 4–3 shootout win over Phoenix.
caption: Budaj with the Avalanche in 2007.
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