Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz is about a week away from returning from his lower-body injury, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The 31-year-old hasn’t played since the 2019-20 campaign and with Darcy Kuemper not getting off to a particularly strong start this season with a .904 SV% in his first seven starts, Francouz’s return would be a welcome addition if he can find the form he had before his injuries. Meanwhile, Chambers adds in a separate column that winger Martin Kaut is listed as week-to-week after suffering a shoulder injury on Wednesday versus Columbus. The rookie is averaging just under nine minutes a game through six appearances so far this season.
More from the Central:
- Minnesota hopes to have defenseman Alex Goligoski back in the lineup tonight after he missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The 36-year-old is in his first season with his hometown Wild and has been a steadying presence on their second pairing while chipping in with three assists. Despite the injury, Goligoski has remained on the active roster so they won’t need to make a roster move to get him in the lineup.
- The Blues could be slow-playing their pending decision on winger Jake Neighbours until Oskar Sundqvist is able to come off LTIR, suggests Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 19-year-old has played in seven games this season, two away from the decision on whether or not to burn the first year of his entry-level deal. Neighbours has held his own so far with a goal and an assist in those seven contests while averaging nearly 10 minutes a night but more time in the WHL may be best for him in the long run.
This might be Francouz’s last chance before he becomes to brittle to be worth rostering
Hope Francouz is ready to go, we will need him to be healthy and ready to contribute to the team. Finally!!!