Francouz stopped all 16 shots that he faced after replacing Philipp Grubauer in Colorado's win in Boston on Saturday. It was another strong outing for Francouz, who has won three straight while stopping 88 of the 92 shots (.957 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight he faces a Flames team on a six-game point streak, going 5-0-1 while scoring 3.17 goals per game.
Colorado Avalanche News
Kylington has played in nine straight games but will be a healthy scratch on Saturday. With Kylington out, Michael Stone will draw back into the lineup.
Kamenev missed the last two games with an illness but will replace Matt Calvert, who was granted a personal leave of absence, on Saturday night. Kamenev has just one goal and three assists in 15 games this season.
Hudon played in nine of the Habs' last 11 games but heads back to Laval, where he has 11 points (9G / 2A) in 17 games this season. With Montreal off until Tuesday, Hudon could be back up before their next game.
Henrik Lundqvist was originally slated to start the second-half of the Rangers' back-to-back, but Georgiev was outstanding last night. Georgiev stopped 45 of the 47 shots that he faced in New York's win in Columbus. He has now stopped 78 of the last 80 shots (.975 SV%) that he has faced and draws a solid matchup on Friday. Montreal hast lost four of their last five road games while scoring just 2.20 goals per game.
O'Connor played in seven straight games, posting one goal on eight shots (12.5 SH%) with a plus-3 rating and two PIMS. HIs return to the AHL bodes well for Gabriel Landeskog, who is a game-time decision for Thursday's game.
Landeskog has been sidelined by a lower-body injury since October 26th but all signs are pointing towards him playing Thursday in Montreal. Landeskog, who had three goals and four assists in 11 games before getting hurt, will likely be back on the top-line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.
Kamenev is day-to-day with an illness, which also makes him questionable to play Thursday in Montreal. Matt Calvert will return to the lineup on Wednesday and replace Kamenev.
The Avalanche announced that they expect Langeskog to return during their three-game road-trip but it won't be Wednesday. Landeskog was on the ice for the morning skate, so it's entirely possible he will play in the second-half of the back-to-back in Montreal.
Rantanen returned to the lineup on Saturday but missed the third period. Rantanen had one goal and three assists before leaving and holding him out of the third period was likely more precautionary since the Avalanche were up massive. Rantanen was also held out of Monday's practice but was on the ice for the morning skate and will play in Toronto.
Hudon has played in eight straight games but will be replaced by Matthew Peca on Tuesday night. Hudon has just one assist and a minus-4 rating in eight games this season.
Georgiev surrendered five goals on 43 shots in the Rangers' 6-5 win over the Canadiens last Saturday. It was the third time in four games that Georgiev allowed five-plus goals, pushing his season GAA to 3.42 while his SV% sits at a paltry .903. Today he faces the Devils for the second time this season--he allowed four goals on 37 shots in a 5-2 loss in the first meeting (Oct.17).