The Avalanche need goaltending help – and fast

The Colorado Avalanche need a save.

On Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Avs were shelled for eight goals against, as concerns continue to mount in Colorado. Alexandar Georgiev has posted an .871 save percentage (Sv.%) through his 13 appearances, meanwhile Justus Annunen is only one point ahead of Georgiev, registering an .872 Sv.% in his 11 games.

The Avalanche have managed to keep their heads above water throughout all their injury troubles this season, however, a main concern for the team continues to be their goaltending. Colorado is 12-10-0 on the year, sitting in a wildcard spot in the Western Conference, but the team ranks 30th in the NHL, allowing 3.77 goals per game.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed the crease in Colorado, and just how the team can address their goaltending issues, before it’s too late.

Yaremchuk: How about this, Alexandar Georgiev 12 starts this year, he’s been pulled twice, allowed four or more goals in four other starts. Six of his 12 starts you can look at it and go – those were bad. Justus Annunen not much better. In nine starts he’s also been pulled twice. Another start with four-plus goals. So, 33% of his starts have been bad. As MacKinnon said (post-game vs. Lightning) ‘everything goes in’.

Seravalli: So, that’s nine bad starts if we’re keeping score at home. I mean, we are only 22 games into the season, that just can’t happen. And look, they’ve been through hell and back with the players that they’ve been missing, to get through to the other side of it, for the most part now depending on what happens with Gabriel Landeskog, to then not get any stops is unforgiveable.

So, you can talk about the Carolina Hurricanes and their current goaltending situation with Spencer Martin now being thrown into the fire. I think there’s no more urgent goaltending situation in the NHL than the Colorado Avalanche.

Yaremchuk: (Ducks) John Gibson, (Sharks) Mackenzie Blackwood, is there someone out there that you look at and go ‘that’s the guy, go get him’?

Seravalli: Yeah, I mean I don’t the Avs can afford John Gibson, so you could probably cross him off the list. Mackenzie Blackwood has played pretty well and he’s someone that we’ve heard Carter Hutton talk about yesterday as someone who really needs to see a ton of rubber. He could definitely see that in Colorado.

Look, I think there’s a ton of different options. Why not go get Dan Vladar from the Calgary Flames? He’s been excellent so far, he’s on our trade targets board. The Flames would be just as happy to go with Devin Cooley as the backup to Dustin Wolf for the remainder of this year. A second-round pick, if you’re (Avs GM) Chris MacFarland, that’s what it’s going to cost to get Dan Vladar out of Calgary.

For more on Avalanche trade targets in net, as well as the very latest on trade talks from around the NHL, watch the full episode here.