With Alexandar Georgiev faltering, the Colorado Avalanche gave Justus Annunen a chance to be their goaltender, but inconsistent play led to his trade to Nashville on Nov. 30.
Two weeks later, Annunen may get a shot at beating his former team when the Predators visit the Avalanche on Saturday night in Denver.
Annunen displayed flashes of the talent that prompted Colorado to take him 64th overall in the 2018 draft. He went 6-4-0 for the Avalanche before the trade, but his .872 save percentage was an issue, and combined with Georgiev’s inconsistencies, Colorado was at the bottom of the NHL in goaltending.
Annunen made 35 saves in Thursday’s 4-1 win at Dallas, his first victory for Nashville. The retooling Predators snapped an eight-game losing streak — with three of those setbacks coming in overtime.
Juuse Saros has received the bulk of the work in goal for Nashville and has put up a 2.72 goals-against average despite the team’s poor record.
The Predators have skilled players leading the way. Defenseman Roman Josi sets the pace with 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists), followed by Filip Forsberg (nine goals, 10 assists) and former Avalanche center Ryan O’Reilly (seven goals, 10 assists).
Nashville’s defense and goaltending haven’t been an issue in its 1-5-3 stretch. Five of those eight losses were by one goal, and only twice did an opponent have more than three goals.
Thursday was the first time in 10 games the Predators scored at least four goals.
“We want to be harder to play against, and kind of consistent with that,” O’Reilly said. “It’s not going to get any easier against Colorado.”
The Avalanche looked lackluster in their 4-1 loss to Utah on Thursday night, due in part to the team playing at home for the first time since Nov. 30 and an illness running through the team. Nathan MacKinnon had the only goal and still leads the NHL with 47 points.
MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are the only teammates in the top five in scoring in the NHL. MacKinnon has 11 goals and a league-best 36 assists, while Rantanen is tied for fourth in goals (18).
Ross Colton has nine goals and was leading the team in that category before suffering a fractured foot on Oct. 28. He has a goal in four games since returning from the injured list.
Offensive firepower hasn’t been the problem for Colorado, but rather keeping the puck out of its own net. Coach Jared Bednar said the change in goaltenders — they also swapped Georgiev for Mackenzie Blackwood — has been helpful, especially in the penalty kill.
The Avalanche killed off 14 of 16 penalties during their 4-1 road trip before giving up one to Utah.
“Goaltending did not help that for a long portion of the season, and now that the goaltending is playing better, the penalty kill numbers are better,” Bednar said.
Blackwood, who was acquired Monday in a four-player trade that included Georgiev going to the San Jose Sharks, could get the start in net on Saturday night but he has also been under the weather.
Blackwood served as Scott Wedgewood’s backup on Thursday night, which indicates he might be feeling better.
–Field Level Media