RALEIGH, N.C. — One week after returning from an international trip in which Jared Bednar bucked his early-season trend of alternating goalies whenever the Avalanche played back-to-back days, there was no reason to stray from Alexandar Georgiev. The new starting goalie was functioning beyond preseason expectation during a three-game win streak.
But Bednar chose to put backup Pavel Francouz back in net for a night, ending a 14-day stretch without competing for the Colorado fan favorite. They chanted “Frankie” as he beat the Hurricanes for his first win of the season. Bednar admired his performance enough to reward him another start in the rematch.