Avs' Francouz starts Game 3 vs. Oilers

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz started Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.

Francouz replaced an injured Darcy Kuemper in Game 1 and stopped 18 of 21 shots as Colorado hung on to an 8-6 victory. Francouz then pitched a 24-save shutout in Game 2.

Kuemper is dealing with an upper-body injury. Justus Annunen is backing up once again.

Francouz has been stellar over his brief NHL career. The 32-year-old Czech netminder owns a .921 save percentage and 2.46 goals-against average in 57 regular-season contests across three seasons.