Good teams find a way to win when they aren’t at their best.
Kind of a cliché, but it’s true.
Thanks to Pavel Francouz, who is playing as well – if not better – as any goalie in the NHL, the Avalanche knocked off the Taylor Hall-less New Jersey Devils on Friday.
The 29-year-old Francouz – he isn’t technically a rookie because of his age – bailed out his teammates time after time and finished with 37 saves in the 3-1 win that stretched the Avalanche point streak to nine games (8-0-1) heading into Monday’s showdown in St. Louis.
My NHL.com GAME STORY includes some of the Hall drama that has to be a distraction for the struggling Devils.
Francouz, 7-0-1 in his past 10 appearances, is 9-2-1 for the season with a 2.26 goals-against average and .932 save percentage. He’s started three consecutive games -- was “subpar…, coach Jared Bednar said, in the 5-4 overtime loss to Calgary – and has played in the past five, having relieved injured Philippe Grubauer Dec. 7 in Boston.
Grubauer, who's been recovering from a lower-body injury, was the backup Friday and should be available to start again.
“A huge part of it is the strength of the team,… Francouz said. “We're able to win games like (Friday) and even (Wednesday) against Philly. We have a really strong team, and it's great for the goalie to play behind a team like that."
The Avalanche weren't so great against the Devils, not defensively.
“I thought we had a lot of Grade A’s, scoring chances from the slot, in tight,… Devils coach Alain Nasreddine said. “In the third period we had numerous chances. We had our chances, we just didn’t bury them and (Francouz) was a hot goalie.…
The Avalanche had been playing a solid, five-man group defensive scheme lately, but that wasn’t the case Friday.
“We were not as good as I’ve seen us play over this homestand and we managed to get five out of six points, so I’m going to look at the bright side,… Bednar said. “We’re clearly going to go over some things and have some meetings, but that game was all Frankie for me. We had a really nice power-play goal, great execution, we scored a couple of goals, but that game is all Frankie.
“We found a way to win. I’m not going to get upset after wins. It’s a perfect day for a day off (Saturday), get our guys away from the rink and reset for next week. It’s going to be a busy, tough week.…
The Avalanche got goals from Gabriel Landeskog on a power play that hasn’t been very productive lately (1-for-13 in the past five games); from the suddenly hot Valeri Nichushkin (six goals in the past 10 games) and an empty-netter from Nathan MacKinnon, who has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in the past 13 games), and has reached the 20-goal and 50-point mark for the season.
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As for Hall, who didn’t play on orders from Devils management, speculation about his eventual destination is all over the place. The Devils will deal their leading scorer and former Hart Trophy winner because he chose not to sign a contract extension over the summer and can be an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2020.
The Avalanche supposedly are among the teams to have shown some interest in Hall, as are the Arizona Coyotes. The Devils pulled Hall for “precautionary reasons… just before Friday’s game, and he’ll be a healthy scratch again Saturday in Arizona as trade talks continue, apparently with more than one team as general manager Ray Shero looks to get his best offer.
“That’s the business,… Devils captain Andy Greene said. “And unfortunately, we put ourselves in this spot to make that move.…