There weren’t many great things to take away from the Avalanche’s season-opening 8-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. But two players stood out for completely opposite reasons. One couldn’t stop scoring, the other couldn’t stop letting in goals.

READ MORE: Game recap of Colorado’s 8-4 loss at T-Mobile Arena

The good: Mikko Rantanen

The Avalanche’s best winger came out flying on opening night, scoring a hat trick in a losing effort. Rantanen, who is still without a contract extension, was a big part of what we expected to be a top-heavy lineup for the Avs to start the year. Alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, Rantanen was a force at even strength and with a power play.

His first goal opened the scoring for both teams. Colorado came out flying in the first handful of minutes, adding a goal before the Knights had their feet beneath them. Rantanen waited at the top of the circle for a feed from MacKinnon and fired a one-timer past goalkeeper Adin Hill while on one knee. It is Mikko’s specialty.

He followed it up with his long PP goal, playing the half-wall on his outside wing and firing another one-timer off a feed from star defender Cale Makar. Rantanen added another tally later, just as Colorado’s second power play opportunity ended. Same spot, same type of goal, from the same PP quarterback who set it up from above.

Unfortunately for Rantanen, every time the Avs scored, Vegas quickly followed up with another goal.

The bad: Alexander Georgiev

On Tuesday, I asked general manager Chris MacFarland if he would enter the season with another UFA starting goalie. And MacFarland didn’t hint at the idea of ​​discussing a contract extension with Alexandar Georgiev at all. At least not yet, and maybe never. Not if these types of games become the norm.

Georgiev struggled in the season opener, conceding five goals on 16 shots in two periods before being substituted for Justus Annunen. The backup didn’t fare much better either, stopping three of five shots in 15 minutes before head coach Jared Bednar opted to pull the goalie with five minutes left.

Both goalkeepers combined managed to stop only two-thirds of the shots they faced. Fortunately, the empty net only resulted in one goal.

But the buck stops with Georgiev. And hopefully he actually stops the puck on Saturday. Colorado will need a lot more from the starter, especially early on when it’s shorthanded and lacking firepower at the top of the lineup. The only positive side? Georgiev looked terrible in Game 1 of the 2024 postseason, but bounced back very well, and right away, in the first round against Winnipeg.