Colorado goaltender Darcy KuemperGame 3 of the Avalanche’s first-round series against The Nashville PredatorsOn Saturday, after applying a stick of eyedrops.
Predators forward hit Kuemper in the last minutes of the first half. Ryan JohansenWhile he fought Colorado’s. Nathan MacKinnonFor position in front the net. Johansen’s stick blade seemed to slip into Kuemper’s mask and hit him in his right eye. Kuemper fell to ice in pain, before the Colorado medical staff rushed him off.
Pavel FrancouzKuemper did not return to play in the second period, so Kuemper came in to fill his place. Colorado leads 2-1 in the second period. They hold a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series.
Kuemper had a great season for the Avalanche, and had turned that into a strong start to the playoffs. Colorado’s goalie was 37-12-4 during the regular season, with a 2.54 goals-against and.921 save percentage. This is fifth among NHL goalies who have at least 50 games. Kuemper was 2-0-0 in the first two games, with a.941 save rate and 1.40 GAA.
Francouz, who had played in six NHL playoffs games prior to Saturday, has a 2-4-0 record with a.892 save percent and 3.23 GAA. He has one postseason shutout on his résumé, from a 27-save performance against the Dallas StarsIn August 2020.