DENVER—As an early birthday present, Colorado backup goaltender Pavel Francouz received a whole lot of defense and a shutout to go with it.
Just not the nod to take over as the starter. That will have to wait.
Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout, Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period and the Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4–0 on Thursday night to take a 2–0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz (39) clears the puck during the second period in Game 2 of the team’s NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Western Conference finals against the Edmonton Oilers in Denver, on June 2, 2022. (Jack Dempsey/AP Photo)
“Since the first seconds, I knew they would help me a lot so that made me more calm,” said Francouz, who turned 32 on Friday. “I could just focus on my play.”…