Stars-Avalanche series could come down to backup goalies

Both the Stars and Avalanche used their "backup" goalies in Game 1 Saturday, and it appears both might be doing so again heading forward.

With Ben Bishop "unfit to play" for the fourth consecutive game, Anton Khudobin continued in net for Dallas. Meanwhile, Colorado goalie Philipp Grubauer appeared to suffer an injury making a kick save on Stars forward Denis Gurianov early in the second period.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Grubauer won't be available for Game 2.

"I mean you saw what I saw. Obviously he's in a position there where he tweaks something, and he's unable to continue, so that's already bad news," Bednar said after the game. "Time will tell how long he's going to be out, I have no idea at this point, but I'm not expecting him to be hitting the ice tomorrow or anything like that. It's going to be Frankie's net here. Hopefully, [Grubauer] can get healthy and back in here as soon as possible. In the meantime, Frankie's going to have to get the job done."

"Frankie" is Colorado backup goalie Pavel Francouz. The 30-year-old from the Czech Republic is in his first full season in the NHL, and performed well. He was 21-7-4 during the regular season with a 2.41 GAA and .923 save percentage. During the playoffs so far, Francouz is 1-2-0 with a 1.59 GAA and .941 save percentage.

Francouz started 12 of the final 13 regular season games for Colorado when Grubauer was hurt in the spring.

"It was like having another starter when 'Gruby' went out, and that's what we're going to need for him to be like again," Bednar said. "He's an easy guy to like, our guys play hard for him, he's always been a hard worker and holds himself to a high standard. He's a real good evaluator of his game and he'll do anything he can to help us win.

The Stars have received "1A" goaltending from Khudobin for the past two seasons. The 34-year-old from Kazakhstan went 16-8-4 during the regular season with a 2.22 GAA. He led the NHL with a .930 save percentage. With Bishop battling injury throughout the Return to Play, Khudobin is 5-3-0 with a 2.55 GAA and .917 save percentage in the playoffs.

He earned his first playoff start this season after a long career with five NHL teams.

"He's been long enough in the league, and I'd say he was most of the time he was a backup, but now he has his chance and he's there for us," said teammate Alexander Radulov. "We're helping him; he's helping us. He's a good goalie and we believe in him, so that's good that we have him."

Bowness pointed to Game 6 against Calgary as a sign of Khudobin's importance. He allowed three goals on the first seven shots, but then shut the Flames down the rest of the way in a 7-3 victory.

"He didn't get flustered," Bowness said. "The players have confidence in him. 'He's going to make the next big save,' which he did. He stopped the flood coming at us and gave us a chance to win the hockey game. The more he plays, the more he has confidence in his ability to bounce back and do those things for the team."

The NHL has adopted the phrase "unfit to play" to handle all ailments inside the bubble, so we don't really know what's wrong with Bishop. That said, he did not participate in the morning skate Saturday, so that seems to indicate he's not close to returning. One would assume he would at least sit as a backup on the bench for one game before the Stars would try to get him back in.

The two teams play back-to-back nights Game 5 and Game 6 on Aug. 30 and 31, so that could be the test. Dallas' No. 3 goalie is Jake Oettinger. The 21-year-old was the Stars' first-round pick (26th overall) in 2017. He was 15-16-4 with the Texas Stars this season with a 2.57 GAA and .917 save percentage. He has yet to play in the NHL, but has sat on the bench for the past four games.

Colorado's No. 3 goalie is Michael Hutchinson. The 30-year-old was acquired from Toronto this season and played one game for the Avalanche. He is 51-52-14 in his NHL career with a 2.80 GAA and .905 save percentage. He has not played in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Seguin, Hintz each score first goal in the playoffs

Roope Hintz and Tyler Seguin were among the Stars goal-scoring leaders during the regular season with 19 and 17 goals, respectively. However, neither had been able to score in the playoffs until Game 1 against Colorado.

Seguin cashed in a nice shot charging the net in the first period. Hintz took a pass from Jason Dickinson and also scored driving the net. Both goals were very pretty plays.

"It felt good," Seguin said. "That was all my linemates' pretty, patented goal where they're battling in the corners, and I kind of tried to find that soft area. Happy that it went in."

Bowness said it was a matter of time.

"You need balanced scoring in the playoffs and they hadn't chipped in goal-wise," Bowness said. "So it's nice to see them score and take the weight off."

Colorado loses Johnson in Game 1

Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson left the game a couple of times during Game 1 after getting twisted up in the first period.

Johnson left the game early and tried to come back. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Johnson "tweaked something and thought he could go, tried it, wasn't able to do that."

Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said the team has to be able to deal with it.

"It happens, and just a matter of how we respond as a group, you know?" he said. "It [stinks] seeing guys go down, and everybody that's in that lineup is there for a reason. There's a hole to fill and there's a next-man-up mentality. We've dealt with it in the past and hopefully those guys can get back as soon as possible and get healthy. But we know we're a good enough team to win with a couple of guys out of the lineup, no doubt."

Quick hits

Game 2: Stars vs. Avalanche (Dallas leads 1-0)

Monday, 8:45 p.m. CT

Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton

TV:NBCSN

Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Video: Bowness on Stars' fast start in series-opening winis a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter Video: Bowness on Stars' fast start in series-opening win, and listen to his Video: Bowness on Stars' fast start in series-opening win.