DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche haven’t played since Tuesday, and as of Friday afternoon did not know when or who they will play next.
And that’s just fine with goalie Alexandar Georgiev.
“It's definitely nice to get a couple of days free. I was thinking about it yesterday,” Georgiev said. “It's so weird. You're so intense, so in the moment with a big goal, and then within a couple of days it's almost like summer. You just don't think about anything, enjoy the good weather, but now you're back and it's nice to start building back and looking forward to the next game.”
After going 1-3-2 in his final seven starts of the regular season and giving up seven goals in a 7-6 loss in Game 1 of the first round against the Winnipeg Jets, Georgiev was 4-0 with a 9.40 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average to help the Avalanche win the series in five games.
“Just tried to get the first win and get that momentum [and] keep it going,” he said. "I feel guys are playing great, and I'm trying to be there to make those saves when they're needed. Definitely feel pretty good right now.”
While tuning out the noise surrounding his play down the stretch, Georgiev also drew inspiration from last season’s exit in Game 7 of the first round against the Seattle Kraken.
“You definitely think about it during the season. You want to push and get a lot more than the first-round exit last year,” said Georgiev. “That was a good experience though. I feel, for me, [I'm] just trying to bring that experience [from] that big Game 6, Game 7, and know that I can play great in those big moments.”
With Georgiev, who led all NHL goalies with 38 wins during the regular season, holding up his end in net, the highest scoring team in the regular season got to do what it does best in front of him: score goals.
Colorado outscored Winnipeg 28-15, the most goals among any team in the playoffs entering Friday. That’s the kind of success they hope to maintain when they face either the Dallas Stars or Vegas Golden Knights in the Second Round.
“Either team that we're going to face here is a really good team” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “You got the defending champs and you got the team that was the best team in the West during the regular season. So either one of them is going to be a tough matchup. But for me, it's just about trying to get to where we're trying to go, and whoever we face is standing in our way.”
Dallas plays at Vegas for Game 6 (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MAX, TNT, BSSW, SN360, SN, TVAS). The Stars lead the best-of-7 series 3-2.
Georgiev won’t be watching though.
“I just try to follow the results,” he said. “Trying not to watch too much hockey. [I’ll] kind of relax [for a] couple days and just wait to see who we got.”
