Through the first three weeks of play, the Avs are suffering from a Stanley Cup hangover and are 4-4-1 after nine games; hardly a record worthy of the defending champs. However, I’m not surprised. The Avs had the second shortest off-season in NHL history with 81 days (the 2020-21 Tampa Bay Lightning had 76 days), and of those 81 days, a majority of them were filled with copious celebrations. Even for the youngsters, that will take a toll on anyone’s body, not to mention that the Avs are also minus their captain. Landeskog recently underwent knee surgery and is not expected back until January. Additionally, the Avs no longer have last year’s goal generator, Nazem Kadri, who signed with the Calgary Flames over the summer.
If this were last year, I’d be worried, but let’s remember that last season, though nine contests, the Avs were also 4-4-1. I might not be ready to ring the alarm on the season, but that doesn’t mean I’m not annoyed about it. However, there is one new contributor to the Avalanche bench that, for once, doesn't have me worried or annoyed: Alexandar Georgiev.
Last year, goaltending was a concern that continued throughout the post-season, but the Avalanche were so good that we could have had Mike Smith in net and still won the Cup. Our netminding was good enough; that was all we needed to clinch the title. We all love Frankie, and he played a huge role in the Avalanche’s success in the post-season, and he is solid, but with Kuemper signing a five-year deal with the Washington Capitals, the Avs needed a new starting goaltender.
Enter Georgiev.
The 26-year-old is the first Bulgarian-born player to compete in the NHL, but he moved to Russia at a young age. He spent the last five years as a New York Ranger, where he was signed after their 2017 development camp. He played his first three seasons under Henrik Lundqvist and felt poised to take his reign as starting goaltender. However, fellow Russian Igor Schesterkin made his NHL debut for the Rangers in January 2020 and quickly earned himself the role of #1. After Schesterkin’s dominant first full season in 2021-22 and winning the Vezina for the best goaltender, the only way for Georgiev to advance his career was to sign with another team.
Looking for an opportunity to prove himself as a starting goaltender, Georgiev signed a three-year, $10.2 million contract with the Avs. While the Avs don’t have a winning record, Georgiev does. He is 4-1-1 and should be 4-0-1 if the Avalanche didn’t blow a 3-0 lead in their last game. His most notable game so far is his performance against his former club. With this Avalanche team, rarely do we see games dominated by goaltending, but the face-off between Georgiev and Schesterkin was a duel between the pipes, with both making over 40 saves. In the end, three periods and overtime were not enough to see a victor, and the match had to be settled by a shootout. Georgiev saved three of the four attempts and won the game for the Avs.
It has been a while since we can say with certainty that the goaltender won the game for the Avs, and so far, Georgiev has stolen two games for his new club. While the rest of the Avs need a little adjusting, it will only be a matter of time until they find their chemistry again, and in the meantime, at least we have a goaltender that has quickly acclimated to the altitude. Welcome to the Mile High City, Georgi!