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The Avalanche beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Monday night for their first road win of their four-game road trip, but it was a battle at the end. The team led 3-0 but had to work hard for the victory in the last eight minutes of the game.
Goaltender Justus Annunen stopped 13 shots in the first two periods combined and faced another 13 in the third, which he gave up two — one soft and one unaware.
Annunen gave up three goals on six shots in the 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Nov. 15 before being pulled and replaced with rookie Trent Miner. His performance at Wells Fargo Center was huge for his confidence and the confidence of his team behind him.
Flynn’s Daily: Energy Earns Avalanche Bounce-Back Road Win Against Flyers
“He had a great game — to keep it at zero that long and to let us build the lead is exactly what we needed to see from him as a bounce-back game, not just for Justus but for our whole team,” head coach Jared Bednar said after the win against Philly. “We had an underwhelming game at home against Wash (Washington Capitals) and the results showed that and we wanted to be better and they were.”
In Annunen’s defense, his team did not play well in front of him vs the Caps but a loss like that can shake a netminder’s confidence. Alexandar Georgiev had started and won three of the four previous games before Annunen started against Washington.
“The goaltending last night sapped a little bit of our emotional energy and stole a chance for us to get our legs …,” Bednar said after practice on Saturday before the team hit the road. “We’re concentrating on our starts. We go early goal, and then we give up one that I think he’d want back — the point shot with no screen. And next thing you know, it’s 1-1 and then they take the lead. So we’re fighting from behind again. Knowing that we probably didn’t have the legs that we needed in that game, that was a big turning point to it.” Georgiev was put on the injured reserve list retro to Nov. 13 but is traveling with the team and skated in the morning skate on Monday ahead of the matchup with Philly. His status is listed as day-to-day so there’s a good chance he’ll start against Washington on Thursday or the reigning Stanley Cup champ Florida Panthers on Saturday.
If Georgiev’s injury is more serious than expected, it could be a tough stretch on the road for the Avs. If he’s healthy to play against the Cats, they could come out of this trip out east with at least two to eight points. Annunen needs to work off the momentum from the win over the Flyers to give the Avalanche a chance for a rematch win over the Capitals.
Around the NHL
Vancouver Canucks: The team announced that forward J.T. Miller has taken an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons.
The 31-year-old forward has 16 points (6G, 10A) in 17 games in his sixth season with Vancouver. He has spent 13 seasons in the NHL split amongst the Canucks, New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Boston Hockey Now: Former University of Denver head coach Jim Montgomery was fired by the Bruins on Tuesday after two-plus seasons as the team’s bench boss. Former Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco took over the helm on an interim basis.
Montgomery succeeded Bruce Cassidy after being hired on July 1, 2022, and earned a 120-41-23 record with the Bruins.
Sacco was behind the bench for the Avs from 2009-2013 before being let go and replaced by Patrick Roy.