Defying doubts and delivering wins, Georgiev's resilience launched Avs into Round 2

“It’s the timing of it. It would be more difficult to turn it around under the spotlight in the playoffs, especially after [Game 1],” Jared Bednar explained.

Alexandar Georgiev’s sophomore season as a starting goaltender has come with its share of highs and lows. Visible displays of frustration, slamming sticks and breaking them, prompted concern over his ability to rein it in when it mattered most.

After letting in seven goals in Game 1, his performance in net held it down through four straight wins to lift the Colorado Avalanche into the second round.

“To believe in yourself and then to do a self evaluation, reset, and be mentally tough enough to come out and do what he did in this series is impressive,” Bednar added. “He’s turned it around multiple times during the year after some tough outings or tough stretches, but to be able to do it immediately and understand the importance and put that pressure on yourself and still be able to go and get the job done four games in a row… He had an outstanding series, really… He was a difference maker for us.”

With 62 starts in the regular season, Georgiev led the league in wins (38). When his save percentage was above 0.900, the Avs only lost two games.

It meant that 18 of Colorado’s 32 losses came when Georgiev had an off night and 14 wins were born from perseverance within the group.

His goals-saved-above-expected in the regular season (-11.00) was the lowest of goaltenders with at least 60 starts.

There’s shared accountability no matter what. Every goal-against can’t be pinned solely on a goaltender’s shoulders.

The emotional lows in the regular season didn’t bring out the best in Georgiev. Instead, they were learning lessons for him to separate from rather than derive inspiration.

It was a balancing act. And then Game 1 happened.

The spotlight grew more intense and we collectively held our breath. The stakes were higher than ever.

At morning skate ahead of Game 2, he made a small change to his routine by taking fewer shots to save energy and focus for the evening.

That night, he was tracking pucks better and gloving them down. On 15 high-to-medium danger chances, Georgiev stopped 13.

The expected goals-against finished 2.68 and he made 30 saves to bring them the win.

“I just felt so much trust in the room from everybody…” he said. “I appreciate it so much, it helped me reset and all that… They got my back. I know I’ll help them out here as well.”

Four straight wins later, and the Avs have advanced to the second round.

In Game 5, he faced a hungry team on the brink of elimination and the Winnipeg Jets gave it their all.

Georgiev made 36 saves – a series high for him – and came up huge late in the second period.

He made an important stop on Nino Niederreiter off the rush and followed it up with another block on Niederreiter in close. Sean Walker took a penalty on the play and Colorado went on the penalty kill.

A big save on a Sean Monahan snapshot kept the Avs in it.

Georgiev’s teammates rallied around him after Game 1. Ross Colton spoke about doing everything they could to help him out even more moving forward. That was their goaltender win or lose.

“Really happy for him and proud of him,” Mikko Rantanen said, discussing Georgiev’s turnaround in the series.

“It shows mental toughness from him,” he added. “It’s tough after the first game and [frustrating], but the way he reset and won four in a row for us – and there were some games when he was making those game savers. They were going up or [tied] the game, but he was out there stopping the puck really well.”

Georgiev corroborated their support after Game 5 too. “Everybody was so supportive in the room,” he said.

“It definitely helped [my confidence]. [I] tried to have fun and enjoy the atmosphere. It was an awesome game, the second one (Game 2), I felt everybody helped out.”

Yakov Trenin was a steady player on the kill throughout the series and had the best view of Georgiev on that huge penalty kill in Game 5.

When asked about what he saw, he said it better than anyone:

In a 48 hour period following Game 1, Georgiev did what he had to do to reset. It’s what every athlete wants to do after a difficult game, but it’s easier said than done.

Nathan MacKinnon talked about the team’s resilience, and it points to the strong culture that supported their ability to bounce back.

“Everyone’s on the same page,” he said. “A lot of similarities to the year we won, I think we just know everyone in that room is going to give everything they have and that’s the standard… Whether you score or don’t, some of that stuff is out of your control, but you can control your effort and how hard you work and we’ve got everyone on the same page right now battling.

… Whether we win or lose, we just want to go out swinging and we had a great series in that sense.”

Winnipeg noted Colorado’s Stanley Cup pedigree in their respective postgame interviews.

“They’ve won a Stanley Cup and it showed in this series,” Rick Bowness said. “It did.”

Bowness acknowledged Colorado’s battle-level, “Who’s willing to go to the net harder? Who’s willing to take a hit to make a play? Who’s willing to win battles in the corners on the boards? That’s what it comes down to,” he explained.

“They brought that Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn’t return it for three or four of those games,” said Josh Morrissey. “We have levels that we need to find this offseason. I hope it stings for all of us into the summer and we use it as motivation.”

MacKinnon reflected on how past losses helped to shape them into the battle-tested group we saw in round one.

“I think over the years, you just learn that there’s gonna be highs and lows and it’s how you react to it along the way. Super, super happy with everyone, how hard we worked and how hard we battled this series was amazing.”

It wasn’t an easy path out of round one. Working hard is a conscious choice that they have to make together every day.

Deviating from it presented a wake up call.

“Before the series I think we came in really humble,” MacKinnon said. “We weren’t playing well. These guys just beat us 7-0, so it was a big wake up call to how hard it takes to even win a series in this league. So super proud of the guys and a lot of work to have to do here.”

Georgiev’s bounce back is a focus in this piece, but it took everyone pulling the rope in the same direction. Everyone bought into Jared Bednar’s game plan. They showed respect for him as a coach by executing it.

Artturi Lehkonen was a warrior, Casey Mittelstadt discovered that he loves playoff hockey, Val Nichushkin was explosive, Zach Parise embodied versatility, and the depth raised hell.

By its end, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen left their fingerprints all over the series in some way.

Their second round opponent will present a new challenge. It won’t be easy, but they earned themselves a little time to rest, regroup, and watch Dallas-Vegas closely in preparation.