The Colorado Avalanche are in Winnipeg to take on the Jets on Thursday night. It’s the 12-1 first-place team against the 6-7 sixth-place team. Needless to say, it will be a battle for the Avalanche. They’ve struggled mightily at times, while putting up good numbers against some weaker teams. It seems to go that way pretty often for the Avalanche, but they’ve consistently made the postseason.
It’s not time to hit the panic button, but a win against the Jets would go a long way in not only making the Avalanche’s confidence rise, but specifically goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. Georgiev has struggled a lot this season, and that has led head coach Jared Bednar to play Justus Annunen in a lot of games so far. It feels as though Annunen has surpassed Georgiev as the team’s main starter, but Bednar will consistently tell you that he hasn’t lost faith in Georgie.
By saying that, it could help Georgiev with his confidence, despite all of his bad performances thus far. Putting up a great game against the Jets would help him in the future. Maybe he can earn more trust from his head coach and team.
Of course, the team around Georgiev will have to play out of their minds too. Cale Makar playing would make a world of a difference, but as of right now, Makar is a game-time decision.
I do have to admit I’ve been quite harsh on Georgiev. To make things easier on the goaltender, the Avalanche need to avoid turning the puck over as much as possible, especially in their own zone on the ice. If they are unable to do that, it will leave Georgiev in a terrible position. Even though Makar said publicly earlier in the year that one of the games’ results would have been better had he not played, that will not always be the case. The Avalanche need all the firepower they can get, to take the pressure off of their goaltender.
Spraying Connor Hellebuyck with shots while keeping the puck in the Jets’ zone as much as possible needs to be a point of emphasis Thursday. If not, Georgiev could see a ton of shots on him. This will be a great test for Georgiev, who will face the likes of Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele and Nino Niederreiter—four players who lead the Jets in goals this season.
Hellebuyck has a 9-1 record, posting a 2.10 GAA and a .923 save percentage this season.