Georgiev Has Given the Avalanche Comfort in Net

Good morning and happy Thursday, December 22nd.

Congrats to our readers who predicted Jared Spurgeon would record the best plus-minus in yesterday's poll. His +1 topped Dougie Hamilton (0), Roman Josi (0), Darnell Nurse (0), and Mikhail Sergachev (-2) last night.

Stanley Cup champions, as a general rule, prefer to defend their title with the same man in the net. There’s considerable comfort in having a goalie who has proven he can deliver in the postseason.

But the Colorado Avalanche, last season’s champion, had no such comfort. When no contract agreement was reached with Darcy Kuemper, they had to shop for a goalie.

They settled on New York Rangers backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev. By any definition, Georgiev was unproven. At 26, he had never been a No. 1 goalie. He boasted a grand total of 58 minutes of playoff experience.

Naming Georgiev Colorado’s starting goalie was like giving your newly-licensed child keys to your Lamborghini.

But general manager Joe Sakic’s faith in Georgiev has been rewarded. With about 40% of the season in the books, Georgiev is one of the NHL’s most consistent goalies.

Georgiev raised his record to 14-6-2 with a 2-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night.

His 2.39 goals-against average and .924 save percentage rank him in the top five in both categories. Georgiev’s save percentage is particularly impressive in a season when the league save percentage average is at a 15-year low of .905.

Georgiev’s consistency is much appreciated in a season when the Avalanche are being overrun by injuries. With Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MackInnon out among others, the Avalanche rank 25th with a 2.90 goals-per-game scoring average. Last season, the Avs ranked fourth in scoring at 3.76 goals per game.

Georgiev actually owns better numbers this season than Kuemper had last season.

The change in net in Colorado this season has been as simple as pulling on a new pair of socks.

TRIVIA: What player holds the all-time record for most Stanley Cups won?

🏆 Roman Josi scored a goal & added an assist last night to become the Predators' all-time leader in franchise points. His 567 career points put him one point ahead of David Legwand's total of 566. Josi's 420 assists also lead the Preds franchise and his 791 games played is good for second, behind Legwand's 956. And Josi has the unusual disctiontion in leading the franchise in 'total goals on-ice for' and 'total goals on-ice against.'

📈 The Minnesota Wild defeated the Anaheim Ducks for their 6th straight win. Thanks to a goal and two assists from Matt Boldy and 20 saves on 21 shots against from Marc Andre Fleury, the Wild came back from being down 1-0 to win 4-1. While a six game winning streak is always impressive at the NHL level, it's worth noting only two of the six victories have come against teams battling for a playoff spot (EDM & DET) with the other four against the league's bottom feeders (CHI, ANA, OTT, VAN).

• Red Wings defeat Lightning, end 6-game skid

• Stone scores twice in 3rd, Golden Knights beat Coyotes

• Oilers feel back on track after gritty, hard fought win over Stars

• Bratt scores twice, Devils rally past Panthers to end 6-game skid

• Why the Maple Leafs must be more aggressive than ever at trade deadline

• Zub signs 4-year, $18.4 million contract with Senators

• Lightning-Sabres game postponed due to expected 'once in a generation' storm

• Connor Bedard vs. Adam Fantilli at top of 2023 NHL draft board

• 2023 World Juniors: First Look At Team USA's Lines

• Lightning D Sergachev fined $5K for slash on Leafs F Bunting

• Stars' Gurianov granted indefinite leave

• 🔟 Top 10 Alex Ovechkin goals? No problem. 🦅

• 🚀 Draisaitl steals the puck & feeds Foegele who unleashes rocket one-timer

• 🚨 Rantanen buries 2-on-1 overtime rush

• 🎯 Mason McTavish intercepts Kaprizov pass and snipes five-hole

• 🙈 Connor Dewar whiffs on wide open net after Ducks turnover

• 🍒 Canadiens Anthony Richard pops NHL cherry with first career tuck

• ⏱ Devils need just 5 seconds of power play to score

• Sidney Crosby shows off the art of puck protection

• Try the Gretzky small area game in your next practice or shinny

• Off ice training for a harder shot

TRIVIA ANSWER:

Henri Richard with 11 Stanley Cups 🤯