Instant reaction from the Avalanche’s 7-6 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
Manson’s moment: The Avs were clearly the better team in the game’s opening 20 minutes (and a fair amount of the next 40, for that matter). Winning puck battles. Owning the neutral zone. Passing tape to tape. Thrown together, it resulted in a 14-8 shots advantage going into the first intermission … and a 3-3 tie. How? Well, the minus-2 next to defenseman Josh Manson’s name told at least part of the story. A Manson turnover in Colorado’s zone — admittedly preceded by a poor decision from goaltender Alexandar Georgiev behind the net — served up a 2-1 Jets lead on a platter. And Winnipeg’s 3-3 equalizer a little more than four minutes before the break? It’s safe to say Manson could’ve done a better job of marking Mark Scheifele in front of the crease.
Save our Ship: It’s never a good sign when the opposing fanbase is chanting your goaltender’s name. Yet that’s where the Avs and Alexandar Georgiev found themselves midway through the second period — after he’d surrendered four goals on 10 shots, the last a five-hole Andy Lowry wrister that gave Winnipeg a 4-3 lead. A week ago, Jared Bednar was pleading for his goaltender to bail his team out. “He’s got to come up with a big save for the guys,” the Avs head coach said after his team blew a three-goal lead at Vegas. Unfortunately for the Avs, Bednar had to wait until just before Sunday’s second intermission for that to happen. By that point, the damage had already been done. A 25-17 shots advantage was squandered. And things only got worse one period later.
Make that 0-4 vs. Winnipeg: Nathan MacKinnon (one goal, one assist) deserves better. So does Cale Makar (one goal, two assists). The Avs’ two superstars were brilliant for much of Sunday night, firing off laser beams and relentlessly creating offense for Colorado. It could easily be argued that the Avs controlled the action for a majority of the game. They doubled the Jets’ shots at 46-23, after all. Six goals scored should win you a playoff game. And yet for the fourth time in four meetings this season, the Jets sent the Avs off the rink losers. The cumulative goal total in those four contests: 24-10, Jets. Something’s gotta change. And not just in goal. Because right now, the Jets have the Avs’ number. And that cannot be argued anymore.
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