"Frankie" chants rained down from the stands on Thursday night at Ball Arena, as the Avs took a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Final thanks to their 4-0 blanking of the Oilers.
The man in the net, who turned aside all 24 shots he faced, was not injured starter Darcy Kuemper, but rather backup Pavel Francouz.
"It’s a special feeling," Francouz said of the chants from Avs fans. "It’s tough to describe. It doesn’t happen every day, it was a special night for sure."
With Kuemper out with a lower-body injury, the Avalanche are turning to their backup to take over duties in net. Francouz, who turned 32 the day after Game 2, certainly answered the call on Thursday night, recording his first career playoff shutout and getting his fourth win of the 2022 playoffs.
Here are a few examples of why we love Frankie.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 3, 2022
But truly the list is endless.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Bae6RqFEPl
Given the uncertainty of Kuemper's timetable for a return, the Avs may be continuing to rely on Francouz to close out their conference finals series against the Oiler, and potentially start the Stanley Cup Final if Colorado is able to get there.
SCHEDULE: Bracket, dates, times, TV channels for every series
Here are four things you need to know about the Avs' new starting goalie.
1. Francouz went undrafted, starting his career in the Czech Extraliga and KHL
The goalie started out his professional career in his home country of Czechia. He signed his first pro deal in 2008 with the Czech Extraliga's HC Plzen, but most played in the Chance League, the country's second-highest professional league, until 2012.
He found his stride with HC Litvinov, being named the Extraliga's Best Goaltender in 2013 and earning playoff and regular MVP in 2015, leading Litvinov to a championship win.
After spending three seasons with Litvinov, Francouz elected to go and sign with Traktor Chelyabinsk of Russia's KHL ahead of the 2015-16 season.
During his time in the KHL, he split starting duties with Vasili Demchenko for Traktor. Francouz led the KHL in save percentage in 2016-17 (.953) and in 2017-18 (.946).
He finished out his contract with Traktor, then signed a one-year deal with the Avs in 2018.
2. He's one of eight current Czech goalies in the NHL
He's no Dominik Hasek or Tomas Vokoun, but Francouz hails from Czechia, one of a handful of goalies in the league from the country.
The Avalanche goalie was born in Plzen, the same place current NHLers Dominik Kubalik and Andrej Sustr are from. He's represented his country on a number of occasions, including the 2014 World Juniors, five times at the World Championships and at the 2018 Olympic Games, since he was not yet signed by Colorado.
Other Czech goalies in the NHL are David Rittich, Petr Mrazek, Vitek Vanacek, Karel Vejmelka, Dan Vladar, Josef Korenar and prospect Lukas Dostal.
3. Francouz is one of the few right-handed catching goalies left
It's a rarity nowadays for goalies to be full-righties, meaning they catch and shoot the puck right-handed. But Francouz is one of them.
He joins a short list of goalies that includes the Kings' Cal Petersen, the Penguins' Louis Domingue, Maple Leafs' Michael Hutchinson, Blues' Charlie Lindgren and Vejmelka that are considered "silly-siders."
4. Francouz is among the shortest goalies in the league
These days in the NHL, goalies are typically of larger stature. The average height of an NHL goalie is 6-foot-3, and some of the best goalies are even taller.
That's not the case with Francouz. He's among the shortest goalies in the league this season, listed at 6-foot-0. He's five inches shorter than Kuemper and four inches shorter than third-string goalie Justus Annunen.
Looking at goalies that played this season, only the Predators' Juuse Saros and the Stars' Anton Khudobin are shorter than Francouz and the handful of the goalies listed at 6-foot.