Annunen stopped 31 of 32 shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.
Annunen gave up a goal to Mikael Backlund in the second period and was able to limit the damage there. The 24-year-old Annunen has won three of his last five outings, giving up 10 goals in that span. For the season, he's 9-6-0 with a 2.87 GAA and an .897 save percentage over 17 appearances. However, he's posted a 2.28 GAA and a .930 save percentage in six outings since being traded to Nashville from Colorado. Juuse Saros remains entrenched as the No. 1, and with no back-to-back sets until the end of January, head coach Andrew Brunette may have to pick some spots for Annunen to get starts in the next few weeks.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: In goal against Flames
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Annunen will protect the road goal versus the Flames on Saturday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.
Annunen is set to start the second half of a back-to-back after Juuse Saros pitched a shutout Friday in Vancouver. The 24-year-old Annunen allowed five goals on 38 shots against the Wild on Tuesday, taking the loss while playing in a back-to-back situation again. The Predators' schedule stretches out a bit after Saturday, so Annunen may not see as much playing time in the near future.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: Rough night against Wild men
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Annunen made 33 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Wild on Tuesday.
Annunen and the Preds gave up three power-play goals, and the team spent too much time in the penalty box on a night where the PK wasn't as good as it could have been. Annunen is now 2-2-0 with his new club, and he sports a 2.58 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Everyone has a bad night every once in a while, so throw this game out. Annunen is typically a solid fantasy play for daily leagues.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: Guarding goal Tuesday
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Annunen will defend the road net against Minnesota on Tuesday, per Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site.
Annunen will get the second half of Nashville's back-to-back after Juuse Saros played in Monday's 3-0 loss to Winnipeg. The 24-year-old Annunen has posted a record of 8-5-0 with a 2.83 GAA and an .894 save percentage through 15 appearances between the Predators and Avalanche this season. Minnesota has registered 2.89 goals per game in 2024-25.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: Makes relief appearance
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Annunen gave up a goal on 13 shots in relief of Juuse Saros in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Blues, who also scored an empty-netter.
Annunen was fine on mop-up duty after Saros gave up five goals on 15 shots. The 24-year-old Annunen has allowed six goals on 102 shots over four appearances in December, showing his value in a backup role. It's tough to trust either of Nashville's goalies this season, but that's more of a criticism of the team in front of them. Annunen has an 8-5-0 record with a 2.83 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 15 appearances between the Predators and the Avalanche this year. He's likely to start one of the next two games, either Monday in Winnipeg or Tuesday in Minnesota.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: Showing strengths in new role
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Annunen made 22 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over Los Angeles on Saturday.
Annunen held a shutout until the 9:24 mark of the third when Quinton Byfield rifled a snap shot past him from the slot. A few minutes later, Alex Laferriere stuffed in a rebound with the extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty. Annunen has been excellent in a backup role in Nashville. He is 2-1-0 with a 1.67 GAA and a .944 save percentage in three games. Annunen has plenty of upside as a spot starter but still could be used sparingly behind Juuse Saros.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: Guarding goal Saturday
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Annunen will protect the home net against the Kings on Saturday, per Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site.
Annunen has stopped 62 of 65 shots en route to a 1-1-0 record with Nashville since being acquired from Colorado. He has posted a mark of 7-5-0 with a 2.91 GAA and an .890 save percentage through 13 appearances this season. Los Angeles is tied for 11th in the league with 3.16 goals per game in 2024-25.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: Set to start Thursday
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Annunen will protect the road goal versus the Stars on Thursday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.
Annunen lost his Predators debut last Thursday, allowing two goals on 29 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Canadiens. The 24-year-old will look to get the Predators back on track, as they have lost eight straight games (0-5-3). The Stars are a tough matchup, having won four of their last six contests with 20 goals scored over that span.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: Loses in team debut
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Annunen stopped 27 of 29 shots in Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Canadiens. The third goal was an empty-netter with 46 seconds left in the third period.
Annunen made his first appearance for his new club since being traded from the Avalanche on Nov. 30, but the 24-year-old couldn't secure the win. Annunen is expected to hold the same role he had with Colorado, and he'll operate as Juuse Saros' backup between the pipes.
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Predators' Justus Annunen: Dealt to Music City
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Annunen and a sixth-round pick in 2025 were dealt from Colorado to Nashville on Saturday in exchange for Scott Wedgewood.
As a member of the Predators, Annunen will be the backup goalie behind Juuse Saros. The 24-year-old Annunen has a 6-4-0 record with a 3.22 GAA and an .872 save percentage in 11 appearances this campaign.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Pulled off, then returns Monday
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Annunen stopped 11 of 16 shots in Monday's 8-2 loss to the Lightning.
Annunen gave up three goals on seven shots before he was pulled at 10:03 of the first period, but he returned at the start of the third period and allowed two more goals in the final frame. The 24-year-old has been struggling of late, posting a 2-3-0 record with a 4.17 GAA and an .826 save percentage over his last five appearances. He should remain as the backup of Alexandar Georgiev going forward.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Draws start Tuesday
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Annunen will tend twine in Tuesday's home matchup versus Seattle, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports.
Annunen will make his eighth appearance and sixth start of the 2024-25 campaign. The Finnish netminder has posted a 4-2-0 record, .899 save percentage and 2.58 GAA. The Kraken sit 22nd in the league with 2.77 goals per game through 13 contests.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Takes loss Saturday
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Annunen stopped 20 of 23 shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Predators. The last two goals were empty-netters.
The Avalanche got within a goal late thanks to Nathan MacKinnon, but the Predators found the empty cage twice after that. Annunen put in a decent effort, but his four-game winning streak was snapped anyway. He's allowed seven goals on 53 shots over his last two contests, dropping to 4-2-0 with a 2.58 GAA and an .899 save percentage across seven games (five starts) overall. Annunen has been the best of the Avalanche's goaltenders, but he's currently in a three-man rotation that also features Alexandar Georgiev and Kaapo Kahkonen. Considering the team is entertaining the idea of three goalies while running short on healthy forwards, this is a fantasy crease situation that could quickly get ugly if one of the netminders doesn't get hot soon -- all three have been on the losing end of 5-2 results in the last week. The Avalanche host the Kraken on Tuesday.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Set to be healthy scratch Wednesday
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Annunen will be a healthy scratch for Wednesday's home game against Tampa Bay, per Corey Masisak of The Denver Post.
Kaapo Kahkonen is getting the start Wednesday, while Alexandar Georgiev will serve as the backup. Annunen has a 4-1-0 record, 2.47 GAA and .905 save percentage across six appearances this season. This likely isn't a sign that he has fallen out of favor with head coach Jared Bednar. Instead, this is more of a byproduct of the Avalanche having three goaltenders on their roster.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Starting vs. Sens
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Annunen will guard the home net Sunday against Ottawa, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post reports.
It'll be the fourth straight start for Annunen, who's gone 3-0-0 with a .949 save percentage in his previous three outings. He'll face a hot Senators' offense that's averaging 3.71 goals per game to start the year.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Sharp again in third straight win
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Annunen stopped 25 of 26 shots in Thursday's 5-1 win over Utah.
Annunen has started three games in a row, allowing just four goals on 79 shots in that span. The Avalanche have won all three of those contests, and it's possible that Annunen has temporarily taken over the No. 1 job between the pipes. He's 3-1-0 through five appearances, and he's yet to allow more than two goals in any outing. The Avalanche's next game is Sunday versus the Senators.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Sturdy performance in win
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Annunen turned aside 25 of 27 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over Seattle.
Annunen has now won back-to-back starts, and he's likely earned himself a larger share of the netminding workload as a result of Alexandar Georgiev's early-season struggles. Annunen has posted a 2-1-0 record, .900 save percentage and 2.45 GAA across four appearances. The 24-year-old's next chance to extend his win streak to three will come in a road matchup with Utah on Thursday.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Starting in Seattle
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Annunen will protect the road net in Tuesday's game versus the Kraken, Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports reports.
Annunen will be rewarded with a second straight start after giving up just one goal on 26 shots to defeat the Sharks on Sunday. The 24-year-old will face a tougher task against a Kraken team with 21 goals scored over six contests this season.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Allows one goal in win
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Annunen stopped 25 of 26 shots in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Sharks.
Annunen made his first start of the season after appearing in relief in the first two games of the year. The 24-year-old had little trouble with the Sharks, allowing just a William Eklund power-play goal in the first period. Annunen has given up five goals on 43 shots over his three appearances, going 1-1-0. The Avalanche's slow start is well-documented, but each of Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev have won their most recent outing. The Avalanche visit the Kraken on Tuesday.
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Avalanche's Justus Annunen: Sharpens up Thursday
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Annunen stopped 21 of 22 shots in Thursday's 3-1 preseason win over the Golden Knights.
Annunen had his best outing of the preseason in this road win, quieting a group mostly consisting of Vegas' NHL players. The 24-year-old has allowed seven goals on 74 shots across three preseason appearances. This may have been his last action before Opening Night, though the Avalanche will have one more preseason game at Utah on Saturday.
