Grubauer earns 100th career win in 5-2 victory over Ducks

It may have only taken 13 saves, but when you’ve been playing the ironman role that Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer has, it’s nice to get a win without having to work too hard. In a 5-2 victory over the visiting Anaheim Ducks that saw the Avs tie a franchise record for wins in a calendar month with 11, Grubauer claimed his 100th career victory and broke a four-way tie atop the franchise’s ranks for wins in a month with 11.

There’s no way to overstate Grubauer’s importance to the Avalanche. Without a capable backup, the Avs have been forced into a corner regarding their goaltender’s time off — or lack thereof. Grubauer’s record is an impressive 21-7-1, but that means that backups Hunter Miska and newly acquired Jonas Johannson have combined for a paltry 1-1-3 record in lieu of Pavel Francouz, who went 21-7-4 for the Avalanche last year. Francouz, nursing a lower-body injury, hasn’t played this season, and last week, coach Jared Bednar intimated that Francouz may not be able to return for the rest of this one.

Bednar understands what he’s now asking Grubauer to do. And he continues to be impressed with the 29-year-old goaltender’s results.

“He’s been amazing for us, and tonight was no different,” Bednar said. “When we had breakdowns, he was there to close the door and make the big saves when we needed. He hasn’t been all that busy on most nights, but it’s not just the quantity of shots that makes a goaltender good. When we need a big save at key times of games or penalty kills, he has been there for us all year, and tonight was no different.”

As Grubauer continues his Vezina-worthy campaign, his just reward is not too far behind the horizon. In the final year of a three-year contract that pays him one dollar short of $10 million in total, the pending unrestricted free agent drives his cost up with every win, and if the Avalanche were fortunate enough to win the Stanley Cup, Grubauer could be in a position to demand that $10 million again — per year, this time.

One way or another, the Avalanche had better start scraping their pennies together for Grubauer, because they know already that they simply can’t afford to be without him.

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NEXT UP: Avalanche (22-8–4, 48 pts) vs. Coyotes (16-14-5, 37 pts) | Wednesday, Mar. 31 at 7:30 p.m.

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TEAM NOTES

• With Monday’s win over the Ducks, the Avalanche matched the franchise record for wins in a calendar month. Now 11-2-3 in March, the Avs have exactly one chance to set a new mark with a win over the Coyotes on Wednesday, the 31st and final day of the month.

• The Avalanche dominated the shots-on-goal count yet again, peppering Ducks goaltender Ryan Miller with 48 shots while allowing Anaheim only 15 of their own. It’s the eighth time this season that the Avs have had 40 or more shots on goal, and they lead the league with a 19-6-2 record when they outshoot their opponent.

• Colorado’s plus-41 goal differential on the season, bolstered by a plus-3 in Monday’s win, has them tied atop the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Vegas Golden Knights are third with a somewhat distant plus-33.

• Wednesday’s game against the Coyotes will be attended by Colorado’s first responders prior to Friday’s opening of Ball Arena to fans. A maximum of 4,050 will be allowed to watch the Avalanche host the Blues.

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PLAYER NOTES

• Mikko Rantanen, with a hat trick on Wednesday, could tie his boss for the franchise record for goals in a month. Rantanen, who scored his 12th goal of the month — and 20th of the season — on Monday, is three behind now-general manager Joe Sakic, who potted 15 goals in March of 2000. “Obviously, it’s nice to score some goals,” Rantanen said. “I can’t complain.”

• Cale Makar had three assists in Monday’s win, making him the fastest defenseman in NHL history to record five career regular-season games with three or more assists. Makar now has 70 career points in 79 career games.

• Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and an assist on Monday, and the burly winger is playing his best hockey in years. Nichushkin has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 34 games this season, and is on pace to have the best scoring campaign in his six-season NHL career. As a rookie in the 2013-14 season, Nichushkin had 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 79 games.

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THE FINAL WORD

“It was a great game for us. It was a great effort by our team, and we’re rolling right now. We just want to keep that up.” — Tyson Jost, on the Avalanche’s 5-2 over the Ducks Monday. The Avalanche have earned points in each of their last 11 games.

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INJURY WATCH

• Bowen Byram (concussion protocol) last played on Mar. 25 and is considered day-to-day.
• Conor Timmins (upper-body injury) missed the Mar. 8 game and has not played since.
• Dennis Gilbert (facial injury, COVID-19 protocol) was placed on injured reserve on Feb. 20. He is expected to be out until at least late March.
• Erik Johnson (upper-body injury) left the Jan. 30 game and has no projected return date. On March 25, coach Jared Bednar suggested that it was possible that Johnson could miss the remainder of the season.
• Pavel Francouz (lower-body injury) has yet to play this season and remains on injured reserve. On March 25, coach Jared Bednar suggested that it was possible that Francouz could miss the remainder of the season.

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LAST NIGHT’S LINES

FORWARDS:
Top Line: LW Gabriel Landeskog, C Nathan MacKinnon, RW Mikko Rantanen
Second Line: LW Valeri Nichushkin, C Tyson Jost, RW Joonas Donskoi
Third Line: LW Brandon Saad, C Nazem Kadri, RW Andre Burakovsky
Fourth Line: LW J.T. Compher, C Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, RW Logan O’Connor

DEFENSEMEN:
Top Pair: LD Devon Toews, RD Samuel Girard
Second Pair: LD Ryan Graves, RD Cale Makar
Third Pair: LD Dan Renouf, RD Jacob MacDonald

GOALTENDERS:
Starter: Philipp Grubauer

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