Central Notes: Francouz, Gostisbehere, Krug

It will pretty much strictly be Alexandar Georgiev’s net for the time being in Colorado as Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that netminder Pavel Francouz will be out for the next three weeks due to a lower-body injury.  The 32-year-old is no stranger to missing time as his NHL career high in games played in a single season is only 34.  However, Francouz has done rather well this season, posting a 2.53 GAA with a .919 SV% in 15 starts, numbers that are actually a little better than Georgiev.  The Avalanche recalled Justus Annunen earlier today and it’s worth noting that their next four games are a pair of back-to-backs but with the youngster having just two career NHL appearances and Colorado only being two points up on a playoff spot, it’s possible that Georgiev will need to play both ends of those contests.

More from the Central Division:

• One of Arizona’s top trade chips should be back in action soon as PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports (Twitter link) that blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere could return to the lineup on Sunday. The 29-year-old has missed the last three weeks with an upper-body injury.  Gostisbehere has 29 points in 48 games in 2022-23 – a point-per-game output that’s nearly identical to last season – and is in the final year of his contract that carries a $4.5MM AAV.  The Coyotes were given a pair of draft picks by Philadelphia to take on his deal back in 2021 and they’re well-positioned to add another pick or two by trading him, likely with salary retention, before the March 3rd trade deadline.
• Blues defenseman Torey Krug is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against Colorado, NHL.com’s Lou Korac notes in his latest piece for Sports Illustrated. The veteran left Tuesday’s game early with an injury but was able to suit up on Thursday.  Head coach Craig Berube indicated that the undisclosed issue for Krug is unrelated to the injury he sustained earlier in the week.  Krug has 22 points in 38 games so far this season.