AVALANCHE-ISLES TAKEAWAYS; Georgiev Gooses Isles

In a goaltending classic between Alexandar Georgiev and Ilya Sorokin, Georgie proved best.

The Avalanche, led by Georgiev’s 26 saves – and all three in the shootout – got the 1-0 shootout win over the New York Islanders at Ball Arena,.

Evan Rodrigues’ shootout goal was the only put that went in a net all night.

I thought it was a great win for the Avalanche. They put 46 shots on net, with a short-handed lineup still, against a team that likes to play defense. So, to get the two points was big. They deserved them.

The game went to overtime scoreless, just one of a handful of times that’s happened in the NHL this season.

The Avalanche started OT with Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen. But the Avs just didn’t possess the puck all that much. They spent much of the time playing in their own end.

Makar almost scored at the buzzer in OT, after a cross pass from Rantanen.

Then, when Georgiev started the shootout with a great pad save on Simon Holmstrom, the mood in the building picked up. Rodrigues then beat Sorokin off the forehand for a 1-0 shotout lead. That’s how it finished.

NOTES, TAKEAWAYS

• Andrew Cogliano left the game in the third period, favoring a shoulder it seems, after tumbling into the boards.
• The Avalanche definitely possessed the puck more than New York in regulation.
• Scouts from five teams – Penguins, Rangers, Jets, Blackhawks, Canucks – were at the game.
• Kurtis MacDermid returned to the lineup, playing on the fourth line.
• The Avalanche have scored only three real goals in the last two games, but they’ve both been wins.

NOTES AND QUOTES FROM AVS PR

Cale Makar on his declined penalty: “I just felt like it was a really obvious one. The ref  that called it wasn’t the guy at center ice, he was kind of behind the net on the far side, so I don’t think he had a good  angle on it, he just saw me fall. I mean, I like to think that most times I fall it’s usually because someone trips me, but  that one, I just lost an edge. I felt pretty guilty for the boys there, so I apologized to them.”

Colorado G Alexandar Georgiev 

On Tonight’s Game: “It feels nice to play in this kind of game. The guys played awesome, helped me out a lot. And  obviously, a big win for us.”  

On His Mindset For The Shootout: “Just trying to be patient and play the guys fair. They have a good skill there and  [just] do my job, take it one shot at a time.”

Colorado C Evan Rodrigues 

On Colorado G Alexandar Georgiev: “The past two games he has just been incredible. He’s square to pucks. Even on  deflections, he’s not letting out rebounds. Yeah, he’s been great the last couple of games.” 

On His Shootout Goal: “I kind of thought I was going to go into that unless I saw something different. I went down, he  was giving me a lot of blocker, so I thought if I pulled it there, he would really extend and push and kind of got him on  the cutback.” 

Alexandar Georgiev recorded his second shutout of the season and the 10th of his career. It was also his 13th win of  2022-23, tied with Jake Oettinger, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Martin Jones for sixth in the league. Georgiev’s two shutouts  are tied for fourth in the league (nine goaltenders). Georgiev is the second goalie in Avalanche history to post a shutout  in a 1-0 shootout win. Reto Berra is the other, winning a 1-0 game in a shootout on April 9, 2015 vs. Winnipeg. 

Evan Rodrigues’s shootout winner marked the second of his career, both of which have come this season (also: Oct.  25 at NY Rangers). Rodrigues is now 2-for-4 (50.0%) in shootouts in his career.