The Avalanche outshot the Jets 45 to 23 but lost by one in the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Avalanche outshot the Jets 45 to 23 but lost by one in the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Avalanche scored six goals against the Winnipeg Jets and the probable Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender this season but suffered woes on the other side of the ice in their net.
Alexandar Georgiev faced 23 shots and allowed seven goals, a few that should have been saves.
"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," head coach Jared Bednar said about Georgiev following the loss. "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."
The Avalanche called up goalie Arvid Holm from the Colorado Eagles who dressed as the backup for Game 1. Bednar confirmed Justus Annunen was out due to illness and did not have a timeline for his return.
"I don't know if he's gonna be healthy enough to play or not, wasn't healthy enough to play tonight," Bednar said Sunday night after the loss. "We'll see what we see in the morning and then, you know, I'm not thinking about anything else. We got to have him available if he's going to play."
Holm was the only goalie on the ice for an optional practice at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, according to the Denver Post's Corey Masisak.
Bednar said after practice that Annunen is still sick.
While Georgiev struggled in Game 1, he has shown exceptional abilities in other regular season games. The Avalanche need consistent, solid netminding in the postseason if they want to go deep and there's uncertainty after that loss.
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