Reading about jewelry helped ease the mind. A lot was being asked of Alexandar Georgiev. Backup goalie Pavel Francouz had just sustained his second injury of the season, forcing the Colorado Avalanche to depend on their top netminder even more than usual.
Georgiev needed to learn from the first time. This is the 27-year-old’s first season as an NHL starter, so when Francouz got hurt in late December, the increased physical and mental demands challenged him. Losses stacked up in early January as Georgiev started 12 consecutive games. In the seven games after the holiday break, his save percentage was .