The Colorado Avalanche aren’t used to having their backs against the wall.
They found themselves there four games into the season after an 0-4 start. The worst part about the 0-4 start? The Avs were giving up 6.25 goals per game.
Since the 0-4 start, the Avs have won 11 of their last 16 games including five of their six.
They’ve given up 2.16 goals per game in those last six games.
The Avs came away with a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night and head coach Jared Bednar was ecstatic about the performance.
“I think it’s a big win for us to kind of keep this thing rolling a little bit,” Bednar said. “Not an easy game that’s for sure. I liked a lot of the things we were doing.”
So what has changed since the start of the season? It is easy to point toward goaltending. That has been the biggest disparity.
Alexandar Georgiev looked unplayable at the start of the season and now he is playing at an elite level. He has now rattled off four straight wins.
The Belarusian has a 2.25 GAA and .914 save percentage over his last four games.
But it hasn’t just been about goaltending, there are many factors that Bednar can point to.
They have gotten tougher as a team. Throughout their success over the past few years, the Avs have been known as a finesse team. They may have come into the season thinking they could continue to out-finesse teams.
The roster, particularly the injured players to begin the season, did not allow for that. When you listen to Bednar talk about what he wants to see more of, it is often about the physical parts of the game.
“I think we stuck with our forecheck, O-zone play, grinded to find scoring chances,” Bednar said about what his team did well against the Capitals. “And then on the other end, I thought we did a nice job checking hard and playing the right way.”
Playing the right way is something the Avs did not do a very good job of at the start of the season but found a way to do it now. And that is exactly why they find themselves two games above .500 for the first time this season.