It sure appears like the Avalanche have a new No. 1 goalie

At least for now, it appears like the Colorado Avalanche have a new No. 1 goalie.

Justus Annunen will make his third straight start for Jared Bednar’s team on Thursday night, per multiple reporters on the ground in Salt Lake City. The Avs are on the verge of finishing up a three-game road trip, and will face the new Utah Hockey Club for the first time in the regular season.

No real surprise but looks like Justus Annunen will start again for the Avs.

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) October 24, 2024

Annunen has played the last two games for Colorado, both victories, and has looked sharp in net. He beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Sunday night and the Seattle Kraken 3-2 on Tuesday. Seattle scored what amounted to a pretty meaningless goal with about three seconds left, so Annunen essentially only gave up one goal in back-to-back games.

That’s a nice change of pace after Alexandar Georgiev struggled mightily to start the season. Georgiev was pulled in each of his first two starts, and has a 1-3 record on the season. His save percentage is a weak .810 and he’s giving up an eye-popping 4.99 goals per game.

On the other hand, Annunen is 2-1 and has a save percentage of .900. He’s letting in only 2.45 goals per game.

For Bednar, it makes sense to ride the hot hand, especially with the Avalanche on a three-game winning streak after their 0-4 start had some fans panicking.

If they can win tonight again with Annunen in goal, Colorado will be back to .500 on the young season. And you can bet Bednar will continue to throw him in net night after night while Georgiev watches the majority of the games from the bench.

Related

Avalanche name new head coach for AHL affiliate EaglesFive most important Avalanche games during the 2026-27 seasonNHL drops schedule for 2026-27 Avalanche seasonFirst Avalanche game of 2026-27 season announced, it’s in SeptemberAvs make three more depth signings, including forward with 477 NHL gamesAvalanche sign depth defenseman from the Flyers