Instant reaction from the Avalanche’s 4-1 loss to Dallas in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.

1. Georgie deserved better: As maddening as the opening 55 minutes played out for a packed Ball Arena, imagine how much worse it might’ve been if not for Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. The box score didn’t show it, but Georgie’s individual heroics kept the home team hanging around a grindy, messy, sloppy game. With three minutes remaining, No. 40 had racked up 19 saves, but a handful were absolute worldies. The highlight might’ve come with back-to-back stops, one high and one low, with 10:45 left in the game, that kept the Avs within a goal. Georgie’s had some lost moments when he’s been stuck on an island over the last month, but the guy deserved better on Saturday night. Much better.

2. Otter have more goals: How locked in was Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger through two periods? Fort Knox locked. Per the web site NaturalStatTrick.com, the Avs peppered Oettinger with 11 “high-danger” shots over the first 40 minutes compared to six faced by Avs netminder Alexandar Georgiev. The site’s “Expected Goals” count proffered that Colorado should’ve put up 2.19 goals over the first two stanzas given their opportunities, instead of the one that was actually on the board. In fact, per that metric, it should’ve been the hosts who took a 2-1 lead into the third period — not Dallas.

3. First-period blues: If the slow starts for the Avs offense this series feel as historic as they’ve been painful, that’s because they’re both. According to Hockey-Reference.com’s database, the last three games against Dallas are the first time this century that a Colorado team has opened a postseason series without a first-period goal over the first three games. The Avs have been outscored 5-0 over the first stanza this series vs. the Stars and by an 11-4 margin over their initial seven meetings with Dallas.