Colorado scored six goals against the Winnipeg Jets but it was not enough to win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Colorado scored six goals against the Winnipeg Jets but it was not enough to win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Colorado Avalanche brought energy to Canada Life Centre but turnovers and subpar goaltending cost them Game 1 against the Winnipeg Jets.
Six goals were scored in the first period and the teams went to their rooms tied three-all after the first 20 minutes. Valeri Nichushkin, Miles Wood and Nathan MacKinnon got the Avalanche on the scoresheet while Josh Morrissey, Vladislav Namestnikov and Mark Scheifele netted goals for the Jets.
The Avs did not show frustration and played a solid opening period. The game is very much mental as it is physical so players and coaches had to adjust to a higher level in the playoffs.
"You have less margin for error. So the accountability and the standard that you set has to be higher, not just from me, but from our whole team," head coach Jared Bednar said Saturday. "Like that's just the way it is. It's a game of mistakes. There's going to be mistakes, but we have to limit those mistakes and all the things that we've been talking about all year long, good and bad."
Only one goal was scored in the middle frame after the puck hit a broken stick on the ice and landed on the tape of Adam Lowry's who beat Alexandar Georgiev at 11:03.
"That's what playoffs is — both teams got to push each other and both teams push them to the brink and make teams play different ways and for us, obviously it was part of our game plan," Cale Makar said after the loss. "Again, there were times tonight that we were able to do that and unfortunately all the mistakes we made ended up in the back of our net and that's just the way she goes sometimes. So a couple of things to clean up and then turn the page."
Artturi Lehkonen, Makar and Casey Mittelstadt scored in the third period but it was not enough. Lowry scored another goal and Kyle Connor managed to find the back of the net twice.
Georgiev allowed seven goals on 23 shots — a few questionable ones which visually rattled his confidence.
"It probably needed to be better, right? Like I thought we played well. We created some chances. He made some good saves, but we're gonna need like a couple more saves than that probably to win," Bednar said about Georgiev after the game. "So, but it is what it is, we'll regroup — like we made some mistakes in front of him that we'll have to clean up and try to get the job done. It's a team game."
Backup goaltender Justus Annunen was not dressed Sunday night due to illness and Bednar did not know whether he would be well enough to play on Tuesday.
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