In his Tampa Bay Lightning debut, goaltender Peter Budaj made himself a legend by using his butt to save a goal.
Peter Budaj is one of the unluckiest players in the NHL. Despite basically seeing the Los Angeles Kings season after Jonathan Quick went down, he found himself traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the NHL trade deadline. However, Budaj isn’t letting it get him down. If it is, he sure isn’t showing it. In his Lightning debut, Budaj made a save of the year candidate, using what his momma gave him to save a goal.
Butt save! pic.twitter.com/JsJO8rv9aU
— Evan Sporer (@ev_sporer) March 4, 2017
After that save, maybe Budaj is lucky. But as they say, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Budaj starts off the sequence with a beautiful stick save that knocks him off balance. Luckily for him, he keeps his butt in the air becaues that’s the only thing that kept Penguins forward Jake Guentzel from scoring.
Budaj has been a bit of a rebound story. Back in 2014-15, he was trying to fight his way back into the NHL. The Winnipeg jets gave him a chance with their AHL team. However, Budaj went 19 games without a win. Despite his lack of success, the Kings gave him a chance on the Ontario Reign, their AHL team. Budaj rebounded with a solid season, earning himself another one year deal with the Reign. Quick’s injury in the King’s 2016-17 season opener gave him a road back to the NHL. Budaj rode with it, saving their season in the process.
Must Read: NHL Trade Deadline: Grades For Each Team
Despite the Lightning’s moves at the NHL trade deadline, they aren’t tanking. They want to make the playoffs. If the Lightning make the playoffs, it will likely be due to the impressive play of Budaj.
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