Peter Budaj making most of opportunity with Kings

LOS ANGELES --The lowest point of Peter Budaj's career -- personal and professional -- came during his lost 2014-15 season, playing for St. John's of the American Hockey League.
His wife was pregnant with their second child. As her pregnancy advanced, she returned home to Colorado. Budaj had feared she might go into labor while he was on a long trip and a couple of plane connections away.

St. John's was the kind of place where Budaj said he could close the door at night and open it the next morning to several feet of fresh snow, occasionally. The goaltender was buried in it, and the metaphor was not lost on him. He kept playing and losing, going the 2014-15 season without a victory, the end of his professional career in North America seeming discouragingly close.
About the only break from the tedium was time spent playing Xbox video games with his goaltending protege, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets.
Newfoundland is known as The Rock and Budaj will tell you: He could see rock bottom from there.
"Nothing was working for me," Budaj said. "It was very difficult for me. Everything was really tough. Through the course of time, you make mistakes. The snowball effect, in my personal life and hockey.
"I wish I can delete that time."
Two years later, Budaj would like to do a screen grab, freezing the first third of the season. With the Los Angeles Kings starting a make-or-break nine-game road trip at the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-W, NHL.TV), Budaj has kept them in the mix in a suddenly competitive Pacific Division. He has 13 of the Kings' 14 wins with a 2.18 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and two shutouts. He is tied for fifth in the NHL in wins entering Monday and appeared in an NHL career-high 23 consecutive games. The streak ended Dec. 8.
"If you would tell me that a year and a half ago, I would say you are crazy," said Budaj, who turned 34 on Sept. 18.

All this was triggered by events on the opening night of the season. Kings franchise goaltender Jonathan Quick injured his groin in the first period of a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks and is out indefinitely. Backup Jeff Zatkoff also missed time because of a groin injury.
"He stepped right in and filled that role and he proved he's an NHL goalie," said Kings forward Marian Gaborik, who played against Budaj when they were kids growing up in Slovakia.
Hellebuyck, for one, is not surprised by the reversal of fortune.
"He was doing all the right things," Hellebuyck said. "The [St. John's] team wasn't the greatest at the time. Also, the AHL is a different game. He was used to an NHL game. It's paying off right now because he got better that season. The stats weren't there, but he definitely got better. You could see the skill there. You could see he still got it. He's got the right mind, the right work ethic. You can tell."
Budaj's resurgence stands as the one of the top feel-good stories of the NHL season, vying with Calgary Flames goaltender Chad Johnson, the hometown kid who is helping rescue their season.
Johnson, at least, was No. 2 on the depth chart after training camp. Budaj was third behind Quick and Zatkoff, who signed as a free agent from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Budaj was even wondering what the acquisition of Jack Campbell from the Dallas Stars meant for his future.
The Kings put Budaj on waivers on Oct. 3. He went unclaimed and was assigned to Ontario of the AHL. The League-wide snub stung.
Europe could have been an option for Budaj. But he never cracked open that door, not when he was mired in St. John's or when the Kings started restocking at the position. His resurgence with Ontario last season (42 wins in 60 games) made him think he still had something left at the NHL level.
"I always wanted to play in the NHL ever since I was a little kid and I always believed it's the best league," Budaj said. "I never wanted to give up on that until you honestly look in the mirror and you say, 'I don't think I can play here anymore.'
"I never want to give up on this because I know I can still do this and I know what I have in me."
Dusty Imoo, the Kings goaltender development coach, was the Jets goaltending coach when Budaj was in St. John's. He joked that Budaj used to keep him on the ice "forever," trying to work his way out of the slump.
"We hit that spot where you have one year where things don't go so well, and you're getting to be that age and you can be written off," Imoo said in a telephone interview. "He hit that fork in the road, and it goes to show Peter's character and belief in himself that he still had it in him, instead of believing maybe everybody's right and I've kind of lost it.
"Maybe it's time to go back to Europe and finish out my career … I have nothing but respect for the guy."
When Budaj arrived in Southern California last season, Imoo told him he needed to let go of what he had done, forget days as a starter with the Colorado Avalanche and time as Carey Price's backup with the Montreal Canadiens and treat his professional tryout with the Kings like he was starting over again.

Imoo and Bill Ranford, the Kings goaltending coach, assisted Budaj in cleaning up the details in his game. Imoo described the tinkering as "slight adjustments," namely helping him get more active with his skating rather than sitting back and waiting.
"People are like cars," Budaj said. "You can always make it faster, better handling. You can tweak little things. Every player is a unique package. Billy understands it. He doesn't want me to play like [Quick]. There is only one Jonathan Quick."
Ranford also had a heart-to-heart talk with Budaj during training camp. He explained to him why they signed Zatkoff and traded for Campbell.
"[Budaj] took it as something on him," Ranford said smiling. "We had no more goalies. We had to get goalies. The cupboard was bare. I said, 'This has nothing to do with you. We have the utmost confidence in you.' We lose guys to waivers and we lost a goalie (Patrik Bartosak) to domestic violence. That's a lot to lose in two years.
"You go from having great depth to no depth. We've got to find a way to get the cupboard … restocked."
Former Kings goalies, notably Martin Jones of the Sharks, are thriving elsewhere around the League.
Said Ranford: "Just not for us."
The bare cupboard wasn't so obvious when Quick was patrolling the crease. Without Quick, the Kings have stayed within reach of the Pacific Division leaders, five points behind the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers. They won't play at home until Dec. 31 and start their long trip with three games in four nights.
"Obviously, we've got big shoes to fill with Jonathan going down," Zatkoff said. "We're trying to pick up the slack and make sure we get the team wins. The League is so tight right now. Points are so valuable. You've just got to make sure you stay in the race."
The injury to Quick allowed Budaj the opportunity to showcase himself. His deep religious faith and support of his wife, Taylor, sustained him during the tough times. He tried to tell himself to live in the moment and not let his mind drift too far ahead.
"It's easier said than done because these thoughts creep up on you when you're doing well or doing [things] wrong … or not right," Budaj said. "What everybody else is doing. What everybody is thinking about you. Statistics creep up on you.
"What's going to happen a year from now? What's going to happen after this year? It's very hard to block it out. Human nature: We like to plan stuff. We like to look ahead. When you have everything and everything is going well, you don't want to lose it."
NHL.com staff writer Tim Campbell contributed to this report