October 13th 2024.
The Colorado Avalanche faced a tough start to their 2024-25 season as they encountered a goaltending crisis right off the bat. With Alexandar Georgiev being pulled from his second consecutive start and Justus Annunen failing to provide the answer in relief, the team suffered a 6-4 loss in their home opener at Ball Arena. This put them at an 0-2 record, not exactly the start they were hoping for.
Even the addition of a third goalie, Kaapo Kahkonen, did little to improve the situation for the two current goalies on the roster. Georgiev allowed three goals on just nine shots, while Annunen gave up two in the first eight minutes of relief. It was a disappointing performance, reminiscent of their previous game against the Vegas Golden Knights, where they spent the entire night chasing the puck.
The Columbus Blue Jackets took advantage of the Avalanche's struggling goaltending, scoring twice on their first three shots of the game. The first goal came from defenseman Zach Werenski, who managed to get behind Josh Manson for a redirect. Although this one wasn't on Georgiev, the next two were. Kent Johnson weaved his way through both teams and scored with an unscreened shot from the right circle, just 67 seconds after Werenski's goal.
Despite the early deficit, the Avalanche managed to stay in the game thanks to a goal from Nathan MacKinnon and a power play goal from rookie Ivan Ivan. However, Georgiev's night was cut short when he allowed another goal at the start of the second period. It was a lefthanded shot from Adam Fantilli that found its way to the back of the net, prompting head coach Jared Bednar to make a change in net.
Things didn't get any easier for the Avalanche as Annunen also struggled in goal, giving up a goal to Kirill Marchenko just minutes into his appearance. The Blue Jackets continued to dominate, extending their lead to 5-3 before the halfway mark of the game. It was a disappointing performance from the Avalanche, especially since they had shown promise in their previous game against the highly competitive Vegas Golden Knights.
Bednar and his players had high hopes for their home opener against the struggling Blue Jackets, but the poor performance in goal made it difficult to evaluate the rest of the team. With key players out due to injury, it was always going to be a challenging month for the Avalanche. However, their start to the season was even worse than expected, leaving them with a lot to work on if they want to turn things around. For more updates on the Avalanche, be sure to sign up for the Avalanche Insider and get all the latest NHL analysis.
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