Game one for the Colorado Avalanche against the Winnipeg Jets may have been a warmup. The first game had breakdowns in the defense and some of the worst goaltending seen from Alexandar Georgiev. Tonight was the complete opposite. The defense held strong (most of the time) and Georgiev redeems himself in the victory. Desperate not to come home down by two games, the Avalanche had to make a turnaround in their game. The depth in the Avalanche’s offense also needed to show up and make a difference in the game. Here are my takeaways from the 5–2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
Takeaways
— Alexandar Georgiev needed to have a “prove me wrong” game, and he did. During game one, Georgiev had a save percentage of .696, in game two he turned it around to .933. Georgiev knew if he had another performance like game one, the crease would be open. The problem is, in the playoffs, once you make a change that early, you can’t go back. Georgiev showed why he had a league-leading 38 wins this season. He knew what he needed to do and did it.
THE JETS RETAKE THE LEAD AND THE CROWD GOES WILD 🔥🔊 pic.twitter.com/Xbuh5RiZH7
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 24, 2024
— The Avalanche depth activated by providing five of the 11 points scored by skaters tonight. Ross Colton had a surprising face-off win right to Miles Wood to shock Conor Hellebuyck. It would be the beginning of a shift in the Avalanche’s momentum. And the bottom-six players accomplished it. Yakov Trenin also handled a turnover to Andrew Cogliano. Zach Parise would get the goal, but the hard work paid off.
Miles Wood straight off the face-off win from Ross Colton ties the game! #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/ESTVDMLiDO
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) April 24, 2024
Zach Parise scores with a nearly empty net after a chance created by Yakov Trenin and his strong forecheck. Andrew Cogliano credited with the assist. #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/3Dc6FOuqyB
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) April 24, 2024
— Special teams came through tonight. In game one, the penalty killing unit of Colorado killed just one out of the two penalties. That one goal ended up being the difference in the loss. Tonight the penalty killing unit killed all three power plays that Winnipeg had. Artturi Lehkonen was blocking shots and taking charge. He definitely stood out on both ends of the ice tonight.
Conclusion
Colorado needed this game, not only to tie the series, but for their confidence as well. As the game went along, Georgiev grew more confident in his movements, but it still needs work. The offense needed a boost from top to bottom and they got it tonight. If they can continue this type of play, it will be a competitive series. The Avalanche will fly home and play again on Friday night at 8 PM in Denver.