After giving up three goals on just 17 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night, Anton Khudobin bounced back with the biggest and most impressive win of his professional career. Although it was unrefined, unconventional and a bit unexpected, he made 32 saves and shut out the red-hot Vancouver Canucks in a 4-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. Click below to view our audio/visual scouting report on Khudobin, including game highlights courtesy of the NHL.com website.

When you look back at Khudobin’s effort against Colorado, it was borderline disastrous. His rebound control was weak and he rarely looked calm or composed during the game. The third goal he allowed was a floating dump-in from the blue line by Tomas Fleischmann and could be considered as one of the worst goals allowed all season long.

But one of the true elements of a goalie’s potential lies not within their statistics, but within their ability to rebound from a bad game. And even though Khudobin continued to struggle with his rebound control and footwork in the first half of his game against Vancouver, he made a number of timely saves in the third period and secured his shutout behind some energetic, focused and timely netminding.

To get a little more insight on Khudobin’s eclectic demeanor and personality, be sure to read this column by Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune. It’s a great piece on the “different” but effective style that Khudobin plays. Below you will find the highlights from both games, courtesy of the NHL.com website, along with a few more scouting notes.

+ Khudobin is an energetic and animated goaltender that plays the traditional Vladislav Tretiak style. His stance is very narrow and upright and his balance point is centered in the middle of his skates. Because of this, he’s considered a goalie that relies on solid positioning. He displayed quick feet in both games, but his overall footwork was very loud and hyperactive. He does a great job of scrambling to cover loose pucks around his crease area and he does like to challenge shooters with an active stick.

+ Khudobin’s style mimics and mirrors a lot of the same traits you’ll find in Evgeni Nabokov’s game. As such, he will appear non-traditional and unconventional, but in actuality has a refined and effective butterfly style. He’ll also stand up when possible, which allows him to economize his movements and conserve energy. The key is to realize that Khudobin is still a fairly raw-skilled prospect that will steadily improve his ability to read plays, absorb shots and direct pucks to less dangerous areas.

+ When projecting Khudobin’s potential as an NHL goaltender, I think a lot of his success depends on what the Wild have planned with Jose Theodore and Josh Harding at the end of the season. If either of them are re-signed, it will force Khudobin to spend another year in Houston. At this point, it’s safe to say that Khudobin is ready for the next level. He could handle a 15-20 game workload in the NHL and continue to develop at a steady pace by backing up Niklas Backstrom.

+ Khudobin’s main areas of improvement would be the main elements that are found with goalies that are NHL-ready. They would include rebound control, displaying patience and proper balance on quick-developing plays and then eliminating aerial angles on rapidly-rising shots. But he clearly has the quickness, positioning, energy and durability to thrive in the NHL.

+ As you watch the highlights from Friday’s and Sunday’s game, you’ll find that his footwork, positioning and balance improves as he logs more minutes. This is what “getting into a rhythm” is all about for a goaltender. The more shots he faces, the more comfortable he gets in the crease and the better his mechanics become. Because of this, expect his next game to be one in which he continues to display improved skills.

+ Overall, you have to be excited about the bounce-back performance Khudobin had against the Canucks. It’s a great display of his mental toughness and rising confidence. He’s a very capable Russian netminder that is clearly capable of evolving, albeit slowly, into a top-notch NHL goaltender. He will need some big-time opportunities and a team that’s willing to be patient as he evolves, but because he has displayed solid mental toughness in his two short stints with the Wild (his first one came last year), Khudobin has a lot of potential.