Avs morning skate notebook: Strong start for Francouz

Avalanche fans should get their first look at newcomer Pavel Francouz later Wednesday night, as the Avs host the Dallas Stars in Game No. 4 of the six-game preseason.

Francouz, signed in the off-season from the KHL, played his first NHL game of any kind Monday night in Las Vegas, and it went well. He stopped 29-of-32 shots in the Avs’ 5-3 win over the Golden Knights. He is one of two goalies on the roster for the game with Dallas, with Semyon Varlamov the other. Jared Bednar did not address the media this morning, so it is unclear how much each goalie will play against the 3-0-1 Stars.

No matter how well Francouz plays in the preseason, he almost certainly will be sent to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, as Varlamov and Philipp Grubauer are set as the top two goalies. If and when he is sent to Loveland, Francouz will be OK with that.

“When I signed here, Joe Sakic told me about the situation, so I knew how it was going to be,” Francouz told BSN Denver. “I just wanted to come here and try something different. Everybody’s dream is to be in the NHL. It’s really hard to get there. So, I just take it as opening doors to the system.”

Francouz led the KHL in saves percentage the last two seasons (.946 and .953) playing for Traktor Chelyabinsk. He’s not a big man (listed at 6-foot, 180 pounds), but what he lacks in size he seems to make up for in quickness and agility.

He called his first victory the other night, even though it didn’t count in the standings, a “great experience” and says already is comfortable playing goal on the smaller ice surfaces of North America.

“I started skating here in the summer, so I had a lot of time to get used to it,” Francouz said. “I think, right now, I don’t even remember what it was like playing on the big ice surface.”

NOTEBOOK

Here is the lineup sheet for tonight’s game. One notable: Nikita Zadorov will make his preseason debut on defense for the Avs.