Avalanche News
Flynn’s Daily: Avalanche Goaltending — How Does it Look Right Now?
The Avalanche beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Monday night for their first road win of their four-game road trip, but it was a battle at the end. The team led 3-0 but had to work hard for the victory in the last eight minutes of the game.
Goaltender Justus Annunen stopped 13 shots in the first two periods combined and faced another 13 in the third, which he gave up two — one soft and one unaware.
Annunen gave up three goals on six shots in the 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Nov. 15 before being pulled and replaced with rookie Trent Miner. His performance at Wells Fargo Center was huge for his confidence and the confidence of his team behind him.
Flynn’s Daily: Energy Earns Avalanche Bounce-Back Road Win Against Flyers
“He had a great game — to keep it at zero that long and to let us build the lead is exactly what we needed to see from him as a bounce-back game, not just for Justus but for our whole team,” head coach Jared Bednar said after the win against Philly. “We had an underwhelming game at home against Wash (Washington Capitals) and the results showed that and we wanted to be better and they were.”
In Annunen’s defense, his team did not play well in front of him vs the Caps but a loss like that can shake a netminder’s confidence. Alexandar Georgiev had started and won three of the four previous games before Annunen started against Washington.
“The goaltending last night sapped a little bit of our emotional energy and stole a chance for us to get our legs …,” Bednar said after practice on Saturday before the team hit the road. “We’re concentrating on our starts. We go early goal, and then we give up one that I think he’d want back — the point shot with no screen. And next thing you know, it’s 1-1 and then they take the lead. So we’re fighting from behind again. Knowing that we probably didn’t have the legs that we needed in that game, that was a big turning point to it.”
Georgiev was put on the injured reserve list retro to Nov. 13 but is traveling with the team and skated in the morning skate on Monday ahead of the matchup with Philly. His status is listed as day-to-day so there’s a good chance he’ll start against Washington on Thursday or the reigning Stanley Cup champ Florida Panthers on Saturday.
If Georgiev’s injury is more serious than expected, it could be a tough stretch on the road for the Avs. If he’s healthy to play against the Cats, they could come out of this trip out east with at least two to eight points. Annunen needs to work off the momentum from the win over the Flyers to give the Avalanche a chance for a rematch win over the Capitals.
Around the NHL
Vancouver Canucks: The team announced that forward J.T. Miller has taken an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons.
The 31-year-old forward has 16 points (6G, 10A) in 17 games in his sixth season with Vancouver. He has spent 13 seasons in the NHL split amongst the Canucks, New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Boston Hockey Now: Former University of Denver head coach Jim Montgomery was fired by the Bruins on Tuesday after two-plus seasons as the team’s bench boss. Former Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco took over the helm on an interim basis.
Montgomery succeeded Bruce Cassidy after being hired on July 1, 2022, and earned a 120-41-23 record with the Bruins.
Sacco was behind the bench for the Avs from 2009-2013 before being let go and replaced by Patrick Roy.
Read More: Bruins Share Blame For Montgomery Firing
Other Colorado Avalanche News
Deen’s Daily: Colton Joins Avalanche Road Trip; Habs Forward Nears Return; Cossa Called Up
Ross Colton May Be Back in Avalanche Lineup Soon
Notebook: Was It Time for the Avalanche to Trade Justus Annunen?
Deen’s Daily: Avalanche Still Looking for Goaltending?; Red Wings Goaltending Takes a Hit
What Makes Nikolai Kovalenko a ‘Dangerous’ Player
Good & Bad: Full Team Effort in Avalanche Win
Good & Bad: Poor Goaltending, Execution in Avs Loss to Lightning
Avalanche’s Miles Wood Placed Back on IR; Chris Wagner Recalled
Avalanche Acquire Goaltender Scott Wedgewood From the Nashville Predators
Flynn’s Daily: How Avs Need to Move on from Loss; Montgomery Debuts as Blues New Head Coach
If Georgiev and Annunen are both healthy, they need to be on a regular 2 to 1 schedule. Georgiev cannot be overworked and Annunen underworked. Just riding the hot hand does not work in the long run. The same goes for using Ludvig and Kylington on defense. The Avs need to take advantage of having the luxury of extra d-men and rotate them to keep the entire defense healthy, rested, and sharp. That would also allow Toews to take a break in back to back games if he is not 100%. Watching the problems in Pittsburgh, I wonder if Montgomery… Read more »
Montgomery is clearly well thought of as a coach. I don’t think he’ll be out of work long. You’ve got love when a GM builds an extremely flawed roster & then scapegoats the coach.
Overpaid immensely for Zadorov & the extremely overrated Lindholm. Completely bungled the Swayman negotiation. Built a roster with an entire offense centered around one elite winger & literally nobody else. Unless you still consider 100 year old Brad Marchand still an elite offensive player. Then the topper name Joe Sacco as your interim coach…yup good luck Bruins fans lol.
Joe Sacco = endless dump and chase. 🤣🤣🤣
You took the words right out of my mouth. This needs to be a goalie tandem, and it will greatly benefit the whole team if done properly.
Bednar is a great coach and worthy of Jack Adams consideration annually. We used to think his blindspot was playing certain veterans too much, such as JJ, because he trusted them despite the evidence. Most of us were willing to accept this since so many NHL coaches, who tend to be a risk adverse bunch, do the same thing. They all have their cozy comfy blankets in the form of veteran players who should play less. This year, his main weakness is how to manage his goaltenders. Bednar would not be the first excellent coach to mismanage his goalies, so… Read more »
Joe Sacco in the head coaching seat again? Get ready for a lot of attempted dump and chase hockey Bruins fans. 🤣🤣🤣
John Gibson name is rumored to the avs so I wonder how they would make it fit cap wise and asset wise.
They also linked to blackwood. Alot trade rumors are georgiev and 2nd rd For blackwood
Gibson sucks & is overrated, I saw him get lit up by many teams last season. I’ll take Blackwood over him in a heartbeat
As an Avs and Sharks fan, I was hoping for this same trade last year too. However, Sharks have Vanecek (3.4M) and Blackwood (2.35M), with Askarov waiting in the AHL. Not sure what they’d want with Georgiev at 3.4M. I guess that’s where the draft picks come in.