Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer has been ruled out for Game 2 of her semifinals of the conference against the Dallas Stars after leaving her Game 1 loss with an injury.
Coach Jared Bednar said he will be “not for long” his starting goal tender from the lineup. Grubauer hesitated a bit when trying to make a save at 3:06 of the second period and had to be helped off the ice. He had conceded three goals on 10 shots.
Pavel Francouz stopped 18 of 20 shots after entering the game, but Colorado lost 5-3 to give Dallas a 1-0 series. Grubauer was 5-0-1 with a 1.49 goal versus average and .937 saving percentage in the Edmonton bubble. Francouz went 21-7-4 in the regular season, much of it when Grubauer injured.
“We feel comfortable with either. Of course, what happened to Grubby is sad. That breaks our heart when he has to miss a few games,” defender Ian Cole said. “But we will ride with Frankie. He is a fantastic goaltender. He has proven himself. He came in and played great for us. We will trust Frankie to do his thing.”
Striker Matt Calvert and defender Erik Johnson are both doubtful for Game 2 on Monday night, though Bednar said he did not expect Johnson to be able to play. Johnson left Game 1 with a lower body injury. He returned to the bench in the third period but did not move.
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