Coach Jared Bednar is not worried about goaltender Alexandar Georgiev going into the postseason.

DENVER – It’s coming down the stretch and the Colorado Avalanche are fighting for the top spot in the Central Division heading into the playoffs.

Ideally, the Avalanche end the regular season on top of the division to secure home-ice advantage but that’s not a deal breaker for this team. Colorado is tied for third in the NHL for road wins with 25 as of April 5, so even if they don’t face off for Game 1 at Ball Arena, they’ve proven to be just as effective in other buildings.

Can Georgiev handle starting job in the playoffs?

One question going into the playoffs, however, is goaltending. Alexandar Georgiev has been outstanding this season but as Avalanche fans saw in last year’s playoffs, there is always the possibility of injury.

When Darcy Kuemper was injured after he took a stick to the eye in the first round last season, Pavel Francouz came in and kept the team in the postseason. With no guarantee he’ll be back for playoff time, the team will be depending on Jonas Johansson in case something happens to Georgiev.

And while Johansson played well in the two games he started and won this season, it’s not a solid situation to be in with a goaltender having little experience in the regular season and no experience in the postseason.

Francouz has been out with a lower-body injury since Feb. 7 but has been more active as of late looking like he could be inching closer to a return.

Francouz was out on the ice for the morning skate on Saturday taking shots from his fellow teammates. Bednar said his backup goaltender has been feeling better his last few days on the ice and that he’s getting better every day.

Although Georgiev has been successful in his first starting role this regular season, he has only seen action in two playoff games. But that’s not a concern for Bednar.

“When you prove you can do it, and you have confidence in your ability and you put the work in and the preparation in, the rest just takes over regardless of time of year,” Bednar said of his starting goalie. “I mean he’s played big games for us all year long, and played under pressure for us all year long, and he’s done a nice job.”

Georgiev is not the only player on the team showing such confidence and poise. The Avalanche as a whole put in the effort against the Dallas Stars on Saturday night after having an emotionally imbalanced loss against the Minnesota Wild two nights before.

Avalanche looking ahead to postseason

“We’re at a point now competing, playing hard, and the emotion side of the game is going to have to come out in everybody, no matter who you are. I think we’ve seen that as of late,” Andrew Cogliano said. “We’ll go on this road trip and then come back and have some big games at home. There’s time for us to prepare mentally to get ready for the playoffs. There’s a lot of work for us still to do.”

The four-game California road trip should be less stressful for the team as they will face two teams out of the playoff run.

“It doesn’t hurt us, it’s not a terrible road trip … Travel’s easy, weather will be nice, guys can kind of take a breath and relax,” Bednar said. “We’ve been a good road team, is the most important thing. We have a lot of confidence that we can win on the road and we’re going to play some tough games out there.”

Bednar planned this road trip to be a sort of team bonding experience as he said all the injured players will join but was reluctant to say whether or not any of them would possibly play. 

The Avalanche have a lot of things to be confident about going into the playoffs, and the ability to win on the road is just one of them.