Francouz Shines in 'Special Night' with Game 2 Shutout Win

"It was an overall team effort, but I think it was better when they were shouting, 'Go Avs Go!' or 'Let's Go Avs!'"

Even after sharing a meaningful moment and being enthusiastically cheered on by "Frank-ie! Frank-ie! Frank-ie!" chants omitted by the packed crowd at Ball Arena on Thursday night during the final minute of the Colorado Avalanche's eventual 4-0 shutout win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final, Avalanche netminder Pavel Francouz didn't waver from his selfless personality, not even slightly after his perfect 24-save performance and on the eve of his 32nd birthday. It's a trait that has garnered the admiration and adoration from not just his teammates, but the entirety of Avs Faithful in support of No. 39.
And while Francouz credited the pivotal Game 2 win to that of the team's effort, he did emit one of his signature contagious grins when commenting on the support from the jazzed crowd and the magnitude of that particular exchange.
"It was a special feeling," Francouz said after his superb 24-save effort to secure his second career playoffs shutout victory. "Some things are tough to describe. It was a special night."

When his team needed him, Francouz didn't just show up, he seized the opportunity with a stunning shutout against one of the highest scoring offenses and on the heels of a barn burner of a Game 1 which resulted in an 8-6 win for Colorado on Tuesday night.
The Game 2 effort was - as Francouz ensured to point out - a reflective result of the team's commitment to its stalwart defensive details after being openly disappointed with some of the chances against them that they relinquished in Game 1. And while the Avalanche's clinical effort in Game 2 held the Oilers two single digit shots in two periods and shut down some of the hottest scorers in the postseason in Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Evander Kane, Francouz was stellar and deserving of the decisive shutout.
"It's not easy to not play a lot at the end of the year and especially in the playoffs and jump in like that and make some key saves when the game was 0-0 and even when we had a couple-goal lead there," Mikko Rantanen who scored the third goal of the game, said. "It tells us how good of a goalie he is and how mentally strong he is."
Francouz had previously entered the series against the Oilers during the second period of Game 1 after Avalanche starting netminder Darcy Kuemper indicated to Head Coach Jared Bednar that he needed to be replaced in net due to an upper-body injury. With little notice, Francouz - who had not played since Games 3 and 4 of the First Round where he replaced Kuemper in net after an array stick from Ryan Johansen struck his eye through his mask and in turn, Francouz backstopped the Avalanche in completing the series sweep over the Nashville Predators - jumped in net and made 18 saves on 21 shots in 32:41 minutes.
And after his Game 1 showing, the Pilsen, Czech native was notified the afternoon prior to Game 2 by Bednar that he would be starting as Kuemper was still ruled out due to his ailment.
"For sure you're a little nervous," Francouz said. "You have it in the back of your mind that it's a really important game, but what helped me was the way our team played tonight. Since the first second, I knew they'd help me a lot and that made me more calm so I could just focus on my play."
The Avalanche and Oilers skated to a 0-0 stalemate following the first period of play in Game 2 and Francouz was tasked with his biggest workload of the night of 13 shots in that frame. Fortunately, Colorado unleashed three goals in the span of 2:04 and two goals in the span of 15 seconds in the second period and added a third-period power play goal for good measure all while locking the game down defensively for the remaining 40 minutes to secure the shut out and to take a 2-0 series lead.

The impressive effort from the Avalanche featured the dialed in focus from Francouz's ultra-calm presence in net, where he came up with timely stops and decisive saves on the chances he did face. In particular, the 6-foot, 179-pound right catch smothered a smothered a slapshot from Kailer Yamamoto early in the game, denied back-to-back chances in the slot from Jesse Puljujarvi late in the scoreless first period and made a confident poke-check against Darnell Nurse late in the second period to preserve Colorado's then, three-goal lead.
"That's his personality," Bednar said. "You saw it on the ice tonight. It's a big moment. He knows the magnitude of it coming into a playoff series like this. He's worked extremely hard to stay sharp. He always does. He always comes in and does a nice job after having a bunch of time off which is not easy to do. I thought he looked really poised. He was calm, cool and collected the whole night. He was really square to the shooter, not overly active, just making most of the saves look easy."
And while the status of Kuemper remains uncertain as the series shifts to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4, there's been no wavering in the utmost confidence the team has in Francouz. His dominant performances when called upon and seamless transition into net are a testament to his diligent work ethic, while the outpour of support from fans and his teammates is reflective of the adoration for him as a player and a person.
"I have a lot of faith in him," Bednar said. "So does our team."