James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
Jared Bednar knew he couldn’t sugarcoat his goaltender’s performance following a 7-6 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday.
“It probably needed to be better, right?” said the Colorado Avalanche coach.
That’s an understatement.
Alexandar Georgiev was nothing short of abysmal. The Avalanche goalie stopped just 16 of the 23 shots — a .696 save percentage that was the 20th-worst mark posted by any goalie in the playoffs since the NHL started tracking the stat in 1955-56.
“I thought we played well, we created some chances,” said Bednar. “He made some good saves, but we’re gonna need like a couple more saves than that probably to win.”
Unfortunately for the Avs, that type of game wasn’t an anomaly for the 28-year-old goalie, who posted a career-worst .897 save percentage in 63 games this season. Colorado has a goaltending crisis on their hands. One that puts the 2022 Stanley Cup champs — a team as dangerous as any in the West when they are rolling — at risk of being eliminated in the first round for a second straight year.
Related: NHL Playoff Predictions: Who Advances in the West?
Colorado was always going to be at a disadvantage when it came to goaltending in this series. Winnipeg has Connor Hellebuyck, who is the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina Trophy. Still, give the Avalanche credit for finding the back of the net.
But with each step forward Colorado took throughout Game 1, Georgiev pulled them two steps back.
The Avs dominated the first eight minutes of the game — outshooting the Jets 11-2 — and had a 1-0 lead thanks to a snipe from Valeri Nichushkin. But with 11:58 remaining in the period, a fluttering point shot from Josh Morrissey tied the game and Vladislav Namestnikov made it 2-1 for Winnipeg about four minutes later on the Jets’ fifth shot of the game.
Colorado punched back, with Miles Wood and Nathan MacKinnon scoring two goals within 18 seconds of one another. But in a period that saw six totals goals, Winnipeg evened the score on a goal from Mark Scheifele.
The second period was much of the same for the Avs, who controlled the play but once again found themselves down 4-3 after Jets captain Adam Lowy scored on just his team’s second shot at the 11:03 mark.
And it only got worse in the third.
Three-and-a-half minutes into the final period, Lowry made it 5-3 on Winnipeg’s first shot of the period. Just over two minutes later, Kyle Connor extended the lead.
A goal from Colorado’s Arturri Lehokonen made it 6-4, but Connor widened the gap to 7-3 shortly after. Cale Makar and Casey Mittlestadt would each score in the final few minutes of the game, bringing them within one with 30 seconds to go. But the damage was done.
Related: Three Keys to the Jets Shutting Down Colorado’s Stars
What made matters worse is that the Avalanche had no choice but to keep Georgiev in the game. Justus Annunen, the Avs’ backup, was out with an illness. And their understudy to the understudy that night — Arvid Holm — had never played in an NHL game before.
If Annunen is healthy by Wednesday, could he start?
“I’m not going to speculate,” Bednar said.
Ever since stealing Ivan Prosvetov’s backup job in February, Annunen has recorded an exceptional .928 save percentage in 14 games (which equates to 44 percent of the teams’ workload though that span).
Three weeks ago, Bednar poured cold water on any goalie controversy narrative after Annunen came in for relief for Georgiev against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 24. One month later, Georgiev’s grip on the starting job has never been looser.
Even with his sparkling save percentage, Annuen is still an unknown commodity. Just two of his eight wins on the year have come against playoff teams — collecting his six other wins against Chicago (twice), Calgary, St. Louis, Minnesota and Ottawa. And he’s never suited up in consecutive games, either.
Then again, that might not matter if Georgiev continues to play the way he did in Game 1. After all, Colorado’s Cup aspirations depend on finding a solution in net, whoever his name is.
Related: NHL Playoffs Poll: Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes Seen as Cup Front-Runners
News Summary:
- 'It probably needed to be better' — Colorado's Georgiev Gives Up Seven Goals in a Game 1 Loss to the Winnipeg Jets
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.