Georgiev Passed a Huge Mental Test to Guide Colorado to Series Tie

The Colorado Avalanche stole one on the road in Winnipeg to tie the series in a big time redemption game with a 5-2 victory over the Jets.

Game 1 could have been the site of Alexandar Georgiev’s tailspin. When Ivan Prosvetov was recalled to back him up in Arvid Holm’s place, the possibility of being pulled in Game 2 became very real.

On the third shot of the game, the Jets got on the board first but this was not the same Georgiev from night one.

A few things went well for the Avs in the opening frame that helped to shape the course of this game and allowed them to nab an important win on the road.

Defensively they made better decisions than they did bad. Yakov Trenin shouldn’t have let David Gustafsson inside him for the first goal, but Devon Toews had a good defensive stick, Sean Walker retained the puck at the blueline to extend possession, Cale Makar made a huge block on the penalty kill and a combination of these things helped Georgiev to feel more confident in the first period in particular.

Another wave of goal scoring from all over the lineup helped the Avs to turn the tide too.

Special Teams Springboard

Ross Colton was called for goaltender interference in the first period. Makar used his body to block their shot lane, Winnipeg broke a stick, and Georgiev gloved the puck. Josh Manson also made a diving block near its end.

Georgiev wasn’t the only player responsible for adjustments ahead of Game 2 – it’s what makes the playoffs an exciting chess match. Every small detail that can be improved upon can be the difference maker in the path to the Cup. The Avs allowed one powerplay goal in Game 1.

I look back at their first penalty kill in Game 2 as a source of energy that helped to swing momentum. They trailed the shots battle in the opening frame in part because of their time on the kill.

Two great penalty kills held Winnipeg to just two shot attempts. Colorado even added a shorthanded attempt to the mix and created five scoring chances on their own powerplay later in the period – four of which were high-danger opportunities.

Both teams gave up three powerplay chances. As the game grew chippier, some matching minors were assessed. 

A late interference call on Brandon Duhaime in the third period might have tested their lead the most, but all they could get through was one Sean Monahan shot attempt and Georgiev had the block. A big block from Val Nichushkin also came up huge and reinforced the team effort of it all. He’d be the guy to sink the empty net goal to cap it off.

In the opening 15 minutes or so, the Avs trailed in the shots battle, but the game opened up for them after those two big kills. They not only led the shots battle in the end, but had almost triple the scoring attempts blocked or missed compared to Winnipeg after two periods. They exhausted Winnipeg’s stingy defense and it made Connor Hellebuyck fallible.

Scoring by Committee

Miles Wood had eight points – one goal – in his last 25 games of the regular season. He now has goals in back to back games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

His line made up of Ross Colton and Joel Kiviranta has been what the Avs front office envisioned after successful stints with Logan O’Connor earlier this year.

“I thought that that line was really effective,” Bednar said ahead of Game 2. “They were involved right from the drop of the puck. Their details were good. They checked hard. Physicality is part of their game. Those guys, they got a little grit and sandpaper to their game… I’d love to see them repeat that performance.”

And they did just that. Colton won the offensive zone draw early in the second period and sent the puck back to Wood just inside the left-circle. Wood wristed the puck five-hole past Hellebuyck to put the Avs on the board. The finished the best possession line at five-on-five with 14 Corsi-for events.

Additionally, four other goal scorers helped to provide support and four goals came inside the second period.

Makar sent a snapshot toward the net and Artturi Lehkonen redirected it in to tie it.

Then Toews and Makar started the breakout and dumped the puck into Winnipeg’s end. 

Hellebuyck left the crease to play it and Trenin pulled up on him and moved the puck to Andrew Cogliano behind the net.

Zach Parise was just moved to the fourth line and Cogliano sent the puck to him swooping down the slot. Hellebuyck made the diving save, but Parise retrieved the rebound and wristed the puck far-side.

Next a four-on-four came to an end and Lehkonen took the puck from Nikolaj Ehlers along the wall. Lehkonen moved the puck to MacKinnon and he sent the stretch pass up ice to Manson exiting the penalty box. Manson skated in on the breakaway and beat Hellebuyck.

“First of all, glory to God, I don’t get those often,” Manson said postgame, “To be able to put it away, that was nice.”

It was redemptive from Manson after a difficult first game. “It was obviously not my best effort (in) Game 1 defensively, so I wanted to focus on that,” he said.

At even strength, he finished with the best Corsi-for percentage among defensemen and the highest Corsi-for events. He also registered the team-high in hits (six).

The Avs showed versatility again – this time with Parise moving throughout the lineup. You could see that Josh Manson in particular took ownership of his performance in Game 1 and sought to make it right the best way he knew how.

Georgiev’s Response

What encouraged me the most about Alexandar Georgiev’s performance in Game 2 was the hopeful sustainability of it all. It wasn’t some hard, sharp turn predicated on pure luck. He was simply doing his job: swallowing pucks and tracking them better.

Because Winnipeg chased the game after Parise’s goal, their efforts were desperate. This meant a deep push for high-danger opportunities and the Jets recorded 13. On 15 high-to-medium danger chances, Georgiev stopped 13.

The expected goals-against finished 2.68 which meant that Georgiev finished with saves above expected, a stat that hasn’t favored him this year.

It was a difficult 48 hours for Georgiev. He felt the weight of Sunday’s loss, but he wasn’t in it alone.

“They’ve shown so much support to me over the last couple of days,” Georgiev said of his teammates. “I just felt so much trust in the room from everybody… 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.”

Alexandar Georgiev

He also said that he made a little tweak to his routine to help reset by taking fewer shots at morning skate to save energy and focus for the evening.

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Colorado looked like they surprised Winnipeg with the strength of their response. The effort wasn’t so different from Game 1, but they were even more in-sync. When their passes start to connect in the offensive zone, you feel the change in temperature.

Every media member moves to the edge of their seat. You know it’s coming when the Avs are moving the puck and controlling possession. They look like apex predators on the hunt and everyone is a threat.