The Colorado Avalanche needed improvement from their goalie in Game 2 and they got it. Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev and his team needed to be better to take Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and they were in the 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday night. Georgiev told media after the game that he changed some things about his routine ahead of Game 2 which helped him have a bounce back game. The pressure coming into Game 1 against the Jets, who beat the Avalanche 7-0 just nine days earlier, was high for the team. Colorado did not play well on April 13 but played a much different game on Sunday, even though it ended in a loss. "I've had conversations with him, we all have — I'll say that the way he handled himself in Game 2 was outstanding. You know, like that is the highest pressure situation you're going to get. You're viewing it as it's not necessarily a must win, but it's an important game," head coach Jared Bednar said. "You're going out there with a purpose and to accomplish that purpose of at least taking one game and coming home in front of our fans. You have to win and it's coming off a game that he's taken major criticism for in Game 1, and we didn't win and we played pretty well. So the pressure should be mounting, right? With him, with our team, the urgency from our team — and I thought he handled it like as well as he could possibly handle it, played one of his best games of the year in a bunch of different aspects." It was a confidence boost for the Avs to get a win in Winnipeg even though Bednar said he did not like how the team started the game. "I didn't love the first period. It reminded me a little bit of Game 1 at times where we were doing a lot of really good things offensively, I think we had 15 shots. But we had those three, four breakdowns that led to real good quality scoring chances against and that was what we needed to clean up," Bednar said. Despite the mistakes in the opening period, Bednar was impressed with his team's resilience and how it stepped up on the defensive side of the game in the last 40 minutes. "Not just our team making the adjustments but Georgie (Georgiev) giving up a goal early and then just fighting through and sticking to his process of what he needed to do to have success — was really proud of him and the way he handled himself in that game under a lot of pressure," Bednar said. The Bulgaria native netminder made 28 saves and was commended by his teammates for getting them the win. The team has played better at home this season, so the energy from the crowd at Ball Arena should help keep Georgiev's confidence high. MORE COLORADO AVALANCHE NEWS Avalanche reassign 3 players to Eagles [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche/latest-news/avalanche-reassign-3-players-to-eagles] 'It's a game of mistakes': Avalanche lose Round 1, Game 1 of Stanley Cup Playoffs 7-6 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche/latest-news/avalanche-lose-round-1-game-1-of-stanley-cup-playoffs-7-6] 'It’s about playing your best hockey, at the right time': How Avalanche have prepared to face Jets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche/game-day/how-avalanche-have-prepared-to-face-jets]
