Avalanche net six goals, Georgiev falters in Game 1 against Jets

Despite scoring six times on the presumed Vezina Trophy-winner Connor Hellebuyck, the Colorado Avalanche could not keep the puck out of their own net in the team’s 7-6 loss in Game 1.

The Avalanche and Jets combined for six goals in the first period. Valeri Nichushkin opened the scoring at 6:10 in the frame, before Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey and Vladislav Namestnikov responded with goals less than four minutes apart. Miles Wood and Nathan MacKinnon combined for two goals in 18 seconds to temporarily put the Avalanche up 3-2. The lead was short-lived as Jets’ forward Mark Scheifele tied the game late in the frame.

Winnipeg scored three straight goals, including two from Adam Lowry to take a 6-3 lead early in the third period. Artturi Lehkonen closed the gap on the power play, but Kyle Connor scored his second of the night. Colorado made a furious comeback effort with Cale Makar and Casey Mittelstadt finding the back of the net in the latter stages, but it was too little too late.

Let’s go to our key takeaways from Sunday’s Game 1 loss:

Georgiev Stumbles

On Sunday, Colorado’s goaltender Alexandar Georgiev had a poor performance, which ultimately resulted in his team’s loss. Georgiev allowed four goals on 10 shots, five goals on 18 shots, six goals on 21 shots, and seven goals on 22 shots.

To put it in perspective, the 28-year-old finished Sunday’s game with a 0.696 save percentage, which is the 18th worst of all time (dating back to the 1956 playoffs).

Moreover, the underlying numbers suggest that things were even worse for Georgiev than the scoreline indicates. According to MoneyPuck, the Jets accounted for a 2.16 expected goals for during Sunday’s game. With Georgiev letting in seven goals, his -4.84 goals saved above expected was the worst performance by any Avalanche goalie in playoff history.

“It probably needed to be better, right?” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said of Georgiev’s performance. “Like I thought we played well, we created some chances. He made some good saves, but we’re gonna need a couple more saves than that probably to win.”

If Justus Annunen, who was unable to play due to illness, is deemed healthy for Game 2, the Avalanche will have to make a goalie change.

Helle-bucked!

The Avalanche can take a positive outlook into Game 2 despite their loss on Sunday. They managed to score six goals against arguably the best goaltender in the NHL this season. In the three previous meetings, the Jets had stopped the potent Avalanche attack with their excellent team defense and goaltending.

However, that was not the case on Sunday as Hellebuyck seemed more mortal and average than his usual self. Scoring six goals in a game is no easy feat, and when you score against the best goalie in the world, you should be able to win the game.

“We played hard,” Bednar said. “We played extremely hard. We did a lot of good things. You don’t get six (goals) on the Jets without doing that.”

Tough Breaks

While Georgiev’s poor performance in net was the main takeaway from Sunday’s loss, the officiating was questionable at best. On one hand, it’s hard to ignore the impact of a questionable elbowing call on Nichuskin that resulted in an immediate power-play goal, or the overturned no-goal call that likely wasn’t conclusive in a game decided by one.

On the other hand, this is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. History tells you that calls won’t always go your team’s way, officials might ignore penalties, and the game can often get physical. Coach Jared Bednar needs to remind his team before Game 2 that the whistles might not be fair or even present when they should be.

This team has a lot of physical players who can respond, and we can expect to see a very punishing and brutal second game from the Avalanche.