Avalanche goalie Justus Annunen bounces back after worst start of NHL career

WASHINGTON — Alexandar Georgiev’s time as the Colorado Avalanche’s No. 1 goalie hasn’t always been smooth, but he has shown a propensity for rebounding from the lowest points with some of his best work.

It turns out he might not be the only netminder on the roster who has that ability.

Justus Annunen had the worst start of his NHL career Friday night, allowing three goals on six shots against the Washington Capitals before being pulled in favor of a goalie, Trent Miner, with no NHL experience. He followed that up with 24 saves in a 3-2 win Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.

“He had a great game,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought to keep it at zero that long to allow us to build a lead is what I needed to see from him. It was a bounce-back game, not just for Justus but for our whole team.

“We had an underwhelming game at home against (the Capitals). The result showed that. We wanted to be better and they were.”

The Flyers sat back defensively and tried to absorb Colorado’s offensive pressure. They focused on blocking perimeter shots and getting in passing lanes to avoid chances close to their net.

That type of play often leads to a lot of downtime for the opposing goalie. The Avs had the puck for most of the first period, racking up 30 shot attempts (10 were on goal).

Annunen knew early on that he wasn’t going to see a lot of shots if the Flyers continued to play that way, but the ones they got were likely to be on counterattacks and off the rush. His ability to handle the infrequent, but sometimes dangerous chances kept the Avs on the front foot and allowed them time to eventually break down the Philadelphia shell.

“(Annunen) was great. He’s been great all year,” Avs center Casey Mittelstadt said. “Had some big saves, especially at the beginning there when the game was a little slowed down. Heck of a job from (Annunen) for sure.”

After the Avalanche built a 3-0 lead, the Flyers finally got more aggressive. Annunen did allow a pair of goals — one on a long wrist shot through traffic that Bednar said his goalie would like to have back, and one on an odd play in his crease.

For the second time this season, the Avs gave up a goal when they thought their goalie had the puck covered up but the official saw it differently.

“Just a weird scramble at the net,” Avs defenseman Cale Makar said. “Nobody saw the puck and the ref was just kind of sitting there. I didn’t know where it was or what was going on. I feel like (Annunen) played well today.”

This isn’t the first time Annunen has responded after a bad outing. His first two appearances this season were in place of an ineffective Georgiev, and neither went well. He allowed two goals on four shots against Vegas, and then two quick ones against Columbus before settling in as well.

He won five of his six starts after that, compiling a .908 save percentage before getting pulled against Washington at Ball Arena. Now, Annunen might get a shot at another type of redemption.

The Avs are in the nation’s capital to face the Capitals again Thursday. Georgiev is on the trip and skated after the team Monday. If he’s not ready, Annunen should get a second crack at the club that’s currently atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Alex Ovechkin won’t play after getting injured Monday night against Utah, but the Caps have been rolling of late. And while Annunen’s overall numbers have been solid the past two seasons as Georgiev’s understudy, he hasn’t played much against the best teams in the league.

Both of Colorado’s goalies have had rough outings to start this season, and both are trying to stabilize things as the rest of the roster gets healthy. Annunen did that Monday against the Flyers.

“It’s all you can ask from him is to give us a chance to win,” Bednar said. “That’s what he did.”

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