Well, so much for any surprises today down at the Pepsi Center, where YOUR Colorado Avalanche will try break a six-game losing streak.
After strongly hinting that Pavel Francouz, the young Czech who has looked good in two relief appearances so far, would get the start tonight, coach Jared Bednar has decided to play it safe and will start Philipp Grubauer instead.
I’m a bit surprised by the decision, especially with Grubauer being so bad that last game against San Jose. Oh well. Francouz will serve as the backup, as Semyon Varlamov remains sidelined by a lower-body injury – though he was on the ice this morning.
The only other lineup change, according to Bednar, will be putting Sven Andrighetto in the lineup to replace Gabriel Bourque.
So, these should be your lines for the Avs against New York:
Jost-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Landeskog-Kerfoot-Compher
Nieto-Soderberg-Calvert
Andrighetto-Dries-O’Connor
D
Girard-Johnson
Cole-Barrie
Graves-Nemeth
Grubauer
0 Comments (14 conversations)
wizardzik
Francouz is Czech, not Russian.
Adrian Dater
AuthorFixed
IdAvsFan
Bad decision by Bednar – I agree Francouz should be given a chance to start – I don’t have a good feeling about Grubauer as the goalie of the AVS future..
Markk
FUCK
Nels
LOL
StormSlab
If we’re going to put the lines in a blender, why not try Soderberg with some skilled wingers for once?
PK
They are gonna go down by 4 tonight… pull grubi, put in francouz, mount a great comeback and lose by 1 point… my prediction…
Jose
Oh ye of little faith. If we win the Bourque haters will celebrate. As for me I think that we will win by at least 3 goals and get the monkey to loosen its grip on our backs. As several have mentioned we don’t really have much in the way of upside after the first line-9s and 2s. I hope that Mac quits the “pull up” after he crosses the blue line.Just attack the net and go deeeeep.
Jose
And where to you propose finding the skilled wingers?
Chris DeMott
I feel for Bednar on this – He really does need to give his $3 million dollar goaltender a chance to redeem himself. But, if Grubs craps the bed again it’s Bedsey that has to answer for that. This is a critical game for Phillip. That career could go south in a hurry.
nategillespie
You may have answered in the past, but it seems like having Jost on 1st line and Landy on 2nd only lasts for a shift or two…any sense on why he’s been so quick to go back? Not complaining, I think the 92-29-96 is the way to go.
Nels
AD, come on. Scratching Bourque is a welcome surprise! That fourth line still looks pretty crappy though. Someone please convince Bednar to actually give Greer an opportunity. Also we need a healing spell or something for Kamanev. And as improbable as it sounds, I’m starting to miss Wilson. Also need Z. You guys remember when the Avs used to win games? Seems like it was a long time ago but I have a vague recollection…
Avsolutely
The grub decision is a poor one. Bourque decision has been continuously a head scratcher. I’m starting to have doubts about Bednar.
Dan G
I think Francouz has earned a start, but I’m not so down on this decision anyway. If they want Grubs to be one of their top two, they need to give him chances to recover from poor play. Either choice is basically a crapshoot anyway, so maybe Bednar is going with the “devil he knows.” I’d imagine Bednar will be pretty quick with the hook and not wait for the game to be out of reach this time.
Glad to see someone else in besides Bourque.
gtq
They have a lot invested in Grubauer long term. They want to see if he can get it turned around. I don’t blame them. Getting Bourque a seat is a welcome change. Reality is, we ain’t got a lot of choices. Once you get past the first line you have a pile of 3rd and 4th liners. Then you get knicked up a little, like with Wilson and Kamenev, you are running crap out there. We had one line carry us for two months, they cool off, and we just aren’t very good. Looking forward to that Ottawa pick.
The Heretic
Am I the only one concerned with Francouz being on a year deal with him not getting a start? He has started to prove himself and I really hope they don’t cause feelings that makes him decide to explore his options come July. I hope they give him a few starts this season.
Bob_W
Winning or losing is not going to be (nor has it been) on the goalie or Bourque’s presense or absence, but rather it rests squarely on the mental focus, confidence and mind set of the 19 players on the bench and ice. They are totally capable of beating the Rangers if they truely want it enough.
ColoradoCartography
I’m totally ok losing…it sucks this year, totally blows but…this draft class is a really good year to suck…anyone else thinking the #2 and #3 pick is such a bad outcome? I would rather draft phenomenal players than give up picks or trade players for a win right now. Our window is 1-5ish years, not right now.
Everyone wants to go all crazy right now. It’s not the right time—too early. What if we just keep losing…isn’t this draft worth it?
What if we got #1 & #2 picks?
#2 and #5?