DENVER — Alexander Georgiev made 26 saves, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New York Islanders 1-0 in a shootout at Ball Arena on Monday.
It was Georgiev’s second shutout of the season and 10th in the NHL. His biggest save in regulation came from a shot Anders Lee from the left face-off circle with 1:13 remaining in the third period.
“You try to be in the moment,” Georgiev said. “It’s kind of in the back of your mind, the score, but you try to play every moment like it’s the most important one, and you never know when the game can turn. It’s special. Definitely feels awesome. I’m going to enjoy it. it today and get back to work tomorrow.”
Video: NYI@COL: Georgiev stops all 26 shots he faces in win
Evan Rodrigues scored the only goal in the shootout for the Avalanche (17-11-2), who have won four of five. He skated down the right side, went to his backhand before cutting across the crease to his forehand.
“I kind of had the plan in my head that that’s what I was going to do, and then when I skated in, it looked like he was giving me a lot of blockers,” Rodrigues said. “So, I thought if I pulled it, he would really push hard and try to get to the other side. It almost felt like he was baiting me into it, so just once I pulled it, I knew I could try to get that cutback, and it worked out for me.
“I feel like I have good deception and good hands, and I feel like if I sell it hard enough, I can kind of get a goalie to bite. And it’s worked out for me.”
Video: NYI@COL: Rodrigues scores, Georgiev stops Islanders
Ilya Sorokin made 46 saves for the Islanders (18-13-2), who are 1-1-2 on their five-game road trip that concludes at the New York Rangers on Thursday. It was his third shutout this season and 13th in the NHL.
Sorokin’s biggest save came with six seconds left in overtime when he stopped Cale Makar on a one-timer from between the circles off a pass Mikko Rantanen.
“[Sorokin] played great. It was good to see,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “He fought through traffic, fought through deflections, things like that. He was outstanding. I thought we battled. We battled hard. It’s a good point for us to have.”
The Avalanche outshot the Islanders 19-8 in the third and 2-0 in overtime.
“I loved the commitment in our game tonight,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought the guys were checking hard, got better as the game went on, and I thought both goalies were really good tonight. To play with that type of commitment on the defensive side of things and manage the puck properly, I thought the guys did a really nice job tonight.
“You kind of got the feeling as it went on, the way both goalies were playing, that the first goal would probably be the difference-maker tonight.”
Video: NYI@COL: Sorokin makes save on Makar in overtime
Avalanche forward Andrew Cogliano Left the game at 13:39 of the third after he clipped skates with the Islanders forward Zach Parise and fell into the boards. He skated to the bench holding his right shoulder.
“We’ll see how he presents tomorrow,” Bednar said. “He’s getting evaluated now, and we’ll see what kind of information we get, see how he presents in the morning, and we’ll have a better idea on the timeline.”
NOTES: Sorokin’s 46 saves are his second most in an Islanders shutout. He made 49 in a 3-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 23. Only Glenn Healy (51, Jan. 16, 1990) and Jaroslav Halak (50, Feb. 15, 2018) have done more. … Georgiev is the second goalie in Avalanche history to have a shutout in a 1-0 shootout win (Reto Berra, April 9, 2015 against the Winnipeg Jets). … Rantanen had 10 shots on goal. … Colorado defenseman Kurtis McDermid had two shots and three hits in 3:52 after missing 16 games with a lower-body injury. … Avalanche forward Martin Kaut had one shot and two hits in 7:05 in his first game since Dec. 7 after being recalled from Colorado of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
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