Postgame Wrap-Up: Francouz Wins North American Debut

The Colorado Avalanche gave Pavel Francouz a start any goalie would gladly take, an early 1-0 lead. The Czech netminder returned the favor with a strong performance in the third period.
Francouz's North American debut on Monday night was a success as he helped the Avs win their first game of the preseason with a 5-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
The Olympic goaltender for the Czech Republic at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games made 28 saves in his first-ever NHL preseason game and held off a strong push by the defending Western Conference champions in the last 20 minutes of regulation. Francouz stopped 10 shots in the final frame and smothered the Golden Knights' rally by not allowing any pucks to get past him in the last 9:41.

Vegas was icing a veteran roster that could look a lot like the one it opens the regular season with on Oct. 4.
"It's obviously harder here because everything is faster and guys go to the net pretty hard," Francouz said of the speed of the NHL. "I have to say my teammates and my defense worked pretty good today. They didn't let them (opposing players) go in front of me, I saw most of the shots. Big thanks to my D's and forwards as well."
It was the first game for Francouz on the smaller, NHL-sized rinks, but there didn't seem to be much of a learning curve as he stopped all nine shots he faced in the first period. Ice sheets in Europe are usually 13 feet wider than most of their counterparts in the United States and Canada, including in all 31 NHL arenas.
Francouz has spent the last three seasons in Russia with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League after playing three full years of pro hockey in Czech Extraliga. He had a 1.43 goals-against average and .953 save percentage last season with Traktor to be named the league's best goaltender and earn first all-star team honors.

The Plzen, Czech Republic, native received goal support early against the Golden Knights as J.T. Compher tallied just 61 seconds into the game, and the Avs had a 2-0 lead after the first period and a 4-1 advantage in the third.
Despite getting a pair of goals in a matter of 4:21 in the middle of the final stanza, Vegas was unable to battle all the way back from the three-goal deficit, and Francouz got another first to end the night: a preseason victory.
"It was amazing," Francouz said. "The game started pretty good. We scored on the first shot so we kept feeling confident. The end was a little nerve-wracking but we made it as a team. I think it's a big win for us."
ANOTHER GAME FOR GRAVES:The Avalanche has played three preseason games so far in 2018-19, and Ryan Graves is the only player to skate in every one of them.
The defenseman recorded his second point of the exhibition schedule during the first period against Vegas, assisting on J.T. Compher's marker 1:01 into the game. The blueliner also tallied in the Avs' preseason opener last Thursday at Pepsi Center versus the Knights.
Graves had an all-around effort on Monday, as he finished with two shots on goal, four shot attempts, three hits, five blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in 19:37 of ice time.
He is entering his first full season in the Colorado organization after the Avalanche acquired him from the New York Rangers at the NHL trade deadline last year.
DEFENSIVE APPLES: The Avalanche defensemen found their way onto the scoresheet early, as a rear guard had an assist on each of the team's first three goals.
Following Graves' apple on Compher's tally, Samuel Girard picked up a helper on Carl Soderberg's power-play marker at 10:47 of the first. Mark Alt then had the primary assist on Sheldon Dries' goal with seven minutes remaining in the second period.
BOIKOV'S PRESEASON RETURN:While he participated in all three of the club's Vegas Rookie Faceoff games (Sept. 8-11) prior to the start of training camp, Monday marked the first real NHL game for Colorado defenseman Sergei Boikov in more than a year.
Boikov suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during a preseason contest on Sept. 21, 2017 versus the Dallas Stars and had to have multiple surgeries. He got hurt after taking what appeared to be a harmless hit along the boards, minutes after scoring his first goal in exhibition play.
"I don't want to do something special," Boikov said of his mindset before the contest at Vegas. "I just want to play simple and help out the team."
The Khabarovsk, Russia, native played his part against the Golden Knights, recording four hits, two shot attempts and a takeaway in 20:39 of action.
LINDHOLM DNF:Boikov's defensive partner wasn't able to finish the contest, as Anton Lindholm suffered an upper-body injury in the first period.
The defenseman played 3:39 in five shifts during the opening frame but didn't hit the ice after the 10:09 mark of the stanza. No further update was given.
WHAT'S NEXT:The Avalanche returns home for its next two preseason contests, starting on Wednesday versus the Dallas Stars.
Colorado hosts the Minnesota Wild on Friday at Pepsi Center before closing exhibition play at Dallas on Sunday. The Avs will play home and road contests against Dallas, Minnesota and Vegas during the preseason.
The Avs wrapped up their series with the Golden Knights on Monday. Vegas won 5-1 in Colorado's exhibition opener last Friday in Denver.