Colorado Avalanche: The Grubauer Versus Francouz Debate

I’m going out on a limb and saying that Pavel Francouz should be the starting goalie for the Colorado Avalanche during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Shocked is the word when I read Adrian Daters post on Twitter that Philip Grubauer was getting the start in the Colorado Avalanches Round Robin Game One against the Saint Louis Blues.

He had a tumultuous season in the net. There were some absolutely spectacular saves and some that, to say the least, made me shake my head.

Okay, he is the Avalanche’s No 1 Goalie, and?

What happened to the need for a constantly focused netminder at a time that really matters?

Some would say that Grubauer has more Playoff experience given his stint with the Washington Capitals when they won the Stanley Cup. Okay, and why does that count now?

Peter McNab, the Avalanches Color Analyst said during the Blues game that “Grubauer was good when he needed to be.”

Whilst Marc Moser during that same game said that “Grubauer was calm and played well in the game”. In my opinion, he didn’t look confident at all.

He seemed to be happy when he’d stopped the puck, rather than knowing that he was going to stop it. I know that sounds weird, but mental attitude makes a big difference.

Francouz’s First Start

Moser and McNab thought that Francouz would start in the second game against the Dallas Stars.

And he did. Francouz’s performance last night was far better, in my opinion, than Grubauers on Saturday.

Francouz looked confident and dialled in right from the start of the game. He got a shutout. What does that say about his abilities?

Yes, the two games contained very different styles of play. That’s a given when you play two different hockey teams. Yet watching both games, the intensity of last nights game was higher and more intense than the game against the Blues.

That only meant that it was tougher last night to be in goal than during game one.

Coach Bednar Likes Both Goalies

Coach Bednar says there is only one goal difference in it, yet in his press conference from last night what I hear is him defending Grubauer. He said there is only one goal difference between them.

Okay, and yet if that let in goal means the difference between winning the Stanley Cup and coming second wouldn’t you want the shutout goalie in the net?

The Team Is Behind Francouz

In his press conference after the Stars game, Francouz mentioned that the team was playing in front of him all night. Very different from what you saw from the team in the game against the Blues.

What does that say about the teams’ confidence in their goalie? It’s one of those strange things that aren’t really spoken about, yet it happened when Varlarmov was still with us. The team played amazingly in front of Grubauer and left Varly out to dry.

Seems they are doing a bit of the same thing here with Grubauer and Francouz. The team appears to have more confidence in Francouz abilities, currently, than Grubauer’s.

To me, that should stand for something.

But obviously what do I or the players know. Apparently the Coach or coaches know what’s best for the team. What the team wants doesn’t count, they are only the players, on the ice playing the games after all.

Number one goalie or no number one goalie, to me, what’s important is that the team on the ice is 100% behind or with their goalie in each and every game. That is the only way the team will win the Stanley Cup.

If the team has any doubt at all in their mind that their goalie won’t be there for them, they won’t play their best hockey.

From what the team has been saying throughout this entire season, they want to win the Stanley Cup this season. That’s their aim. To do that they need a focused and consistent goalie 100% of the time.

I’m going out on a limb and saying that Francouz is that man. He should be the starting goalie for these upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs.