Goaltending could be what sinks the Colorado Avalanche’s playoff run

The Colorado Avalanche have a goaltending problem. Where have we heard that before?

Alexandar Georgiev is the starting goalie for Colorado. Despite being pulled and not playing well late in the season, Georgiev was the starter for Game 1. And it did not go well.

In a 7-6 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, Georgiev allowed seven goals on only 23 shots. That .696 save percentage is obviously extreme, but it does leave plenty of worry in the minds of the Avalanche moving forward. 

Georgiev finished the season 38-18-5. On a very good Colorado team, his performance is easily overshadowed. But looking deeper, he was allowing over three goals per game consistently and his season save percentage sat at .897, well below the level needed to make a playoff run. 

The Avs did look to Justus Annunen, who played very well late in the season but was unavailable for Game 1 due to illness. 

While Colorado has been able to overcome shaky goaltending in previous playoffs, think of Darcy Kuemper playing just well enough to win the 2022 Stanley Cup, they may not be able to outscore the issue against a defensive-minded Jets team. 

Frank Seravalli: To me, it’s not really the numbers, it’s not the goals-against that he gave up in Game 1, it’s the body language… I look at the body language from not just the team, who clearly believes at this point that they are not going to get the saves required, I don’t really like the body language he [Georgiev] shows to his teammates. That also shows that he doesn’t have the trust in them to defend properly. It’s a two-way street. 

… We’ve talked and broken down how the Avs give up way too much on a consistent basis. But they also need stops, and they’re not getting it. I really think that mistrust looms large as this series moves on. 

You can watch the full segment and episode here: