Morning Skate Diary
Pavel Francouz in net for Avs tonight
The Avalanche, an astounding -650 favorite to beat Arizona tonight at Ball Arena, will have Pavel Francouz in goal as the team tries for its 13th straight home win.
Frankie won his last start, at home against Seattle. The Avs were very heavy favorites to win that game too, but had to come from behind, 3-1, to pull it out.
The Coyotes have a lot of guys on the Covid list, which certainly doesn’t help their chances. Not even with a fully healthy team would they have a great chance against the Avs. One of the guys on the Coyotes Covid list is D-man Jakob Chychrun, one of their best players. He was having a tough season so far, though, with only seven points in 26 games and a…gulp…minus-29.
Avs will have the same lineup they’ve had of late. Bo Byram remains out on personal leave.
Darcy Kuemper is expected to start tomorrow’s game in Arizona, at his old stomping grounds. Good seats still available I hear (yes, that’s sarcasm).
Ivan Prosvetov will start in goal for the Coyotes against the Avalanche tonight in Denver.
Karel Vejmelka will start the second game of the back-to-back at Gila River Arena on Saturday.— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) January 14, 2022