In 57 minutes of ice time until everything came crashing down Thursday inside the Pepsi Center — a stunning Avalanche reduction to the visiting Carolina Hurricanes — the night was characterized by Philipp Grubauer’s excellence in Colorado’s web.
The Avs’ beginning goaltender saved the initial 37 shots he faced with instincts and quickness that began to silence Should Pavel Francouz be Colorado’s goalie?
Needless to say, a disastrous final 3 minutes using a pair of Grubauer-allowed objectives and a single open-netter cast a shadow over his otherwise impressive outing. Grubauer got third-star honors at the loss, but a fast exit from the Avalanche locker room signaled a disposition.
Teammates were quick to defend their man.
“(Grubauer) is lights outside,” forward Matt Nieto said Thursday night. “We’re becoming really consistent play out of him (Francouz). They give us a chance to win. Those men have been our backbone annually and they’re continuing to do that. ”
Coach Jared Bednar’s explanation for this Avs’ meltdown was not an indictment of Grubauer, but rather a result of defensive breakdowns that enabled Carolina’s linking tap-in, and much less than 2 minutes afterwards, a winning slapper away an odd-man rush. Bednar shook his head at the postgame press conference: “Three different men could have broken that up. Bad play. ”
No need to fear. The Avalanche are in their past 12 games with goaltending a substantial strength. Francouz was a brilliant backup — driving a streak of zero regulation declines eight wins, and yet another overtime defeat because November. Bednar still affirmed confidence in Grubauer, the Avs’ goaltender in seven postseason victories per year ago, as his choice moving ahead.
“Based on what (Grubauer) did for us at the end of this past season and through the drama, it’s obvious that he’s our newcomer and Frankie is our copy,” Bednar stated. “But we want to make certain that we’re not overplaying Gruby and we’re committing (Francouz) sufficient games to make an effect on our team too. It sets us. You’ve noticed their goaltending is balanced by more teams … whenever they have that luxury. ”
Grubauer is now 10-7-2 on the season having a .915 save percentage after missing seven games over the last two weeks with hamstring problems.
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“It’s hard if you skip a few games, to see,” Grubauer stated back in November. “It’s nearly more nerve-wracking watching the men fight on the ice and sitting outside than it’s currently playing. ”
Hurricane homecoming. Carolina forward Jaccob Slavin, an Erie native, scored the game-winning goal Thursday night at Pepsi Center.
“Lots of household ,” Slavin stated in the locker room. “I remember playing here when I was a little mini-mite outside on the ice. So to find out here during the game that is actual, to contribute and get the two points is huge for all of us. ”
Next up. The Avalanche (22-10-3) hosts the Blackhawks (14-6-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday. Colorado has beaten Chicago in most of their meetings this past season.
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