Fourth-year Avalanche coach no longer announces his starting goaltender the day before a game, but on Friday he said there is a “good possibility” will make his first career NHL start Saturday when Colorado hosts the to conclude a four-game homestand.
Clear-cut No. 1 goalie has had an excellent start for the 3-0 Avs, pitching third-period shutouts in each game, including Thursday’s 4-2 triumph over Boston, the defending Eastern Conference champion. But Bednar doesn’t want to wait until Week 3 for Francouz, 29, to make his first appearance of the season and just the third of his career.
“We’re 3-0 and Gruby is great,” Bednar said of Grubauer. “His last game was his best, by far. I feel like he’s getting better as this thing goes here and he really stepped up last game against Boston. So it’s a tough decision for (Saturday’s) game but we don’t want Frankie sitting too long, either. We’ve got a lot of back-to-backs coming up and I don’t really want him sitting around for three weeks before he plays.”
The Czech Republic-born Francouz was No. 3 on the Avs’ organizational depth chart last season — his first in North America. He made two relief appearances for the Avalanche while becoming an American Hockey League all-star for the Colorado Eagles.
Francouz has considerable experience in international play and the top professional leagues in the Czech Republic and Russia.
“He’s got lots of experience under his belt,” Bednar said of the 6-foot goalie who catches with his right hand. “Loved the way he performed last year in the American League and generally from my experience, is that if you can be a top goalie in that league you should be able to step up and play here.”
Bednar will announce his starting goalie after Saturday’s morning skate at the .
Footnotes. Avs forwards and skipped practice Friday but will play against the Coyotes. “Both guys just nursing some minor injuries,” Bednar said. … Defenseman Mark Barberio played his first regular-season/playoff game in more than nine months Thursday but was Colorado’s best blue-liner in the third period against the Bruins, Bednar said. “Third period he was outstanding. Working hard for his partner, crisp plays. I liked what he did a lot — especially in the third period. I could tell he was amped up and ready to go,” he said. Barberio began the game as a third-pair defenseman but finished third in minutes with 18:30, trailing only first-pair partners (22:57) and (23:13). … Arizona (1-2) is coming off a 4-1 victory Thursday against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights. The Coyotes only scored one goal in their first two games.
