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Grubauer likely starter for opener; 11 assigned to AHL Eagles

January 10, 2021, 4:51 PM ET [0 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but coach Jared Bednar indicated on Sunday that Philipp Grubauer will start Wednesday in the season opener against St. Louis at Ball Arena.

“The decision (for) opening night, I’m fully confident Grubi’s going to be able to go and wants to go,” he said. “We’ll watch him for the next few days and announce our decision.”

Bednar said Grubauer would get between 65 and 60 percent of the starts in what will be a 56-game schedule.

Grubauer went 18-12-4 in 36 games last season with two shutouts, a 2.63 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. He missed 20 games, the final 13 after sustaining a lower-body injury on Feb. 15 against Los Angeles in the Stadium Series game at the Air Force Academy.

Grubauer was 5-0-1 in seven postseason games with one shutout, a 1.87 GAA and .922 save percentage. He sustained a groin injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against Dallas and missed the rest of the series.

Pavel Francouz, in his first NHL season, had a 21-7-4 record in 34 games with one shutout, a 2.41 GAA and .923 save percentage. He had a 2-4-0 postseason record with one shutout, a 3.23 GAA and .892 save percentage.

Francouz also was hurt against Dallas. He missed the last three games with hip and knee injuries that required what Bednar said was “minor” offseason surgery.

“I view Grubi as our starter,” Bednar said. “That’s not a knock against Frankie because he was outstanding for us last year, but Grubi is the guy we tend to lean on when we have to.”

Grubauer was unfit to practice the first three days of camp. He made his first appearance Friday, along with forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Brandon Saad. Defenseman Erik Johnson remained unfit to practice Sunday.

"It's a little different scenario this year with no exhibition games, so every practice matters,” Grubauer said Saturday. “It's always different when you have guys and scrimmage.”

The Avalanche scrimmaged Sunday after practicing and scrimmaging Saturday. They are off Monday and practice Tuesday at Ball Arena.

“The decision for opening night is made based on what I’ve seen in the recent past,” Bednar said. “I’ve really liked what I’ve seen out of Grubi since he’s been back. I’ve had some conversations with Grubi and how he’s feeling, both prior to training camp and now that he’s been on the ice for three days.

“We intentionally left those guys in the net for game situations, reads and stops, and both guys have looked good the past couple days.”

Grubauer is entering the final year of a three-year, $10 million contract. Francouz is beginning the first year of a two-year, $4 million contract extension.

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The Avalanche assigned the following players to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL: defensemen Kyle Burroughs, Jacob MacDonald, Dan Renouf and Peter Tischke (AHL contract); right wings Nick Henry, Miikka Salomaki and Mike Vecchione; centers Sheldon Dries, Jayson Megna and T.J. Tynan; and goalie Adam Werner.



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