The Colorado Avalanche have had a rocky start to the 2024-25 season. Colorado enters play on Sunday with a 9-9-0 record, which certainly leaves something to be desired. They are still in fourth place in the Central Division, though. The Avalanche hope to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025. And their hopes remain alive for now. But they will need to keep those hopes afloat without goalie Alex Georgiev.
The Avalanche placed Georgiev on injured reserve, the team announced on Sunday. This comes after the team listed its starting goaltender day-to-day with an upper-body injury. In a corresponding move, T.J. Tynan and Kevin Mandolese have been recalled from the AHL's Colorado Eagles.
Georgiev has had a rocky start to the 2024-25 campaign in his own right. He did earn wins in his three most recent starts before the injury. However, he has won just four of his first 10 games to begin the year. He has also posted a ghastly .863 save percentage to this point in 2024-25.
How Avalanche could move forward without Alex Georgiev
For now, the Avalanche will turn to backup Justus Annunen to hold things down with Alex Georgiev on the shelf. Annunen has played nine games so far this year. And while his numbers don't look great, they are better than Georgiev's. The Avalanche puck-stopper has won five of his first nine games with a save percentage of .881.
Behind Annunen will be Kevin Mandolese, who was recalled on Sunday. Mandolese, 24, has not appeared in the NHL this season. In fact, he did not play in the NHL last year, either. However, the Montreal native has some experience in the league. He appeared in three games with the Ottawa Senators in 2022-23, recording a .916 save percentage.
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It is imperative of Colorado's goaltending to step up. The team has allowed the highest Goals Against Per Game in the Western Conference, according to ESPN. Moreover, only the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins allowed more Goals Against Per Game in the entire league. The Avalanche also own the worst team-save percentage of any team in the NHL.
Colorado is hoping to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025. They have made the postseason in each of the last seven seasons. Last year, they fell short of the Western Conference Finals. They want to make a run at the Stanley Cup while their impressive core remains intact. If the season began today, though, the Avalanche would be on the outside looking in.
It will certainly be interesting to see how Colorado moves forward without Georgiev. Hopefully, he can return to the ice without any complications sooner rather than later. In the interim, the Avalanche begin a four-game road trip on Monday when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers.
