Avalanche sink Ducks

Martin Kaut registered his first NHL point and Pavel Francouz got his first NHL shutout as the Colorado Avalanche squeaked out a 1-0 win on Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.

JT Compher scored the only goal of the game 16:38 into the second period when Kaut cut out a Hampus Lindholm puck out of the offensive zone before squaring for Compher to rifle past John Gibson.

It was the only time the Avalanche got the better of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native as he made 28 saves on the night for a SV% .966. Unfortunately for Gibson and the Ducks, Pavel Francouz was literally perfect, stopping all 26 shots he faced to record his first ever NHL shutout on the day he signed a new two year contract with the Colorado Avalanche.

His night was shared with fellow Czech Republic countryman Martin Kaut, who fondly refers to Francouz as his ‘Dad’ and recorded his first ever NHL point on the assist for Compher. This was Kaut’s second game since his call-up on Tuesday from the AHL affiliate Colorado Eagles.

Both players played the majority of last season for the Eagles and formed a close bond, with Kaut often joining Francouz and his family for dinners as the youngster navigated North American hockey and being away from home for the very first time.

Kaut also broke the ten minute mark for time on ice as the Avalanche look to load management their players on a California trip that sees them play back to back games. The 10:33 he played was nearly three minutes more than he received against the New York Islanders on Wednesday as he looks to gain coach Jared Bednar’s trust.

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With assists like the one on Friday night he’s certainly on the right track and will look to build on that as the Avalanche roll into the Staples Center on Saturday night to play the L.A. Kings.

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