Bednar: Georgiev 'deserves all the credit' for win over Jets
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar praised goaltender Alexandar Georgiev for bouncing back in a Game 2 victory after struggling significantly in their series opener against the Winnipeg Jets.
Georgiev stopped all but two of the 30 shots he faced in a 5-2 win that tied the first-round playoff series Tuesday night after turning aside only 16 of the 23 shots the Jets mustered when they prevailed 7-6 in Game 1 on Sunday.
Bednar described Georgiev's response as "fantastic" before elaborating.
"If you give up seven as a goalie - what type of things you read online, what you're hearing from everyone - everyone just goes immediately to doubt and criticism," Bednar said. "So to be able to put that aside, focus on his process just like we would with the team, be mentally strong, resilient, and then go out and prove people wrong in Game 2? That's a tough job to do."
The head coach noted that the Avalanche weren't significantly more effective as a group in the second game, except for the netminder.
"He deserves all the credit," Bednar said. "Because our team was better, but it wasn't that much better. He was much better, and he gave us a chance to win, and we did win. Now, we've got to go repeat it.”
The Avalanche fired twice as many shots on goal as the Jets in Game 1, finishing with a 46-23 edge in a losing effort. Colorado outshot Winnipeg 32-30 in Game 2.
Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Friday night in Denver.