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.