Avalanche Game 37 Grades: Frankie Says Shutout

Jack Johnson – C+

Jack Johnson was exactly what you’ve come to expect from him tonight. Thought he made a couple good plays, and I liked him a little better away from EJ on the penalty kill. We talked about it the other day on the DNVR Avalanche Podcast, but playing like he did tonight, JJ would be the absolute perfect 7th D for this team.

Erik Johnson – C

There’s something he’s doing on the PK that is just on a different page from the rest of the Killers. I can’t quite figure out what it is, but he’s just out of sync there. He’s played much better recently in my opinion, but you’d still like to see him clean up his play down low.

Devon Toews – B-

It’s amazing how many small plays he makes throughout the course of a game that you hardly notice, but have a huge impact on the play. I thought he struggled to move the puck up ice a little bit tonight. Give credit to Anaheim as they played a really stingy defensive game in the neutral zone, but even when Toews has nights like this, he is typically still a net positive impact on the game.

Cale Makar – C+

Similarly to Toews, tonight wasn’t a night where Makar dominated all 200’ of the ice, but he played really solid D and didn’t make any egregious errors. Not a bad night for Cale.

Mikhail Maltsev – C

Thought he was alright. Had a play or two in the first where I thought he was getting after the puck in a good way when the Avs were struggling to do so.

Nicolas Aubé-Kubel – C

I thought a lot of Avalanche players struggled tonight. Guys seemed like they were playing at half speed. NAK definitely fell into that category for me tonight. He’s a guy who needs to be putting in the work for his game to excel. I think it’s a one-off for him, and he’ll bounce back.

Tyson Jost – C-

I want this guy to do so well, every single night. He goes through stretches where he struggles, then he will have a few games where it’s clicking and he’s able to produce, and then just can’t seem to build on it. Had a not-great night, and then took a lazy stick infraction against Trevor Zegras.

Alex Newhook – C+

Thought he had his legs tonight. He’s part of this rejuvenated PK that seems to be trending in the right direction, and I think he looks good out there shorthanded.

Logan O’Conner – B-

I noticed him a ton tonight, thought he was phenomenal on the penalty kill, he was involved after the whistle, and he was heavy on the forecheck. This was a LOC-type game. The Avs had to grind it out, and out-work the Ducks tonight, and LOC had a huge role in getting the job done tonight.

Nathan MacKinnon – C-

I really thought the top line was sluggish tonight. They never really got their legs going. Anaheim always seems to play against this top line really well, so it was nice to see the depth pick up the slack on a night where the top guys were just a step off.

JT Compher – C

You could’ve told me that Compher missed the first 58 minutes of this game and I would’ve had no clue if you were lying or not. I didn’t notice him out there until he made a bid for the empty net.

Kiefer Sherwood – INC

Less than five minutes of TOI, not much to say for Sherwood tonight. 

Sam Girard – A

Thought he was good. He usually really struggles in these games, when he has to slow it down, but he did a good job of not forcing plays and jumped in the play at the perfect time to get the first goal of the game.

Kurtis MacDermid – B+

Thought he did his job on defense, and that was an awesome fight. That was the exact type of game that the Avs got him for. Happy to see him contribute in a positive way, even if it was in less than six minutes of ice time.

Nazem Kadri – A

Two points in a 2-0 win. Is that good? Look, like I said earlier, I thought a lot of Avs struggled or looked sluggish. I didn’t think much of anybody was great in the first 30 minutes of the game, but I thought Kadri’s line was among the most dangerous after the halfway mark. The TNT broadcast was saying that Kadri wasn’t deserving of a high-sticking call against, because they thought he brought Getzlaf’s stick into his own face. Well, the puck doesn’t lie, as Kadri nailed the Ducks’ coffin shut just one shift later.

Gabe Landeskog – C-

Pretty much the same as MacKinnon. Wasn’t bad, just didn’t bring it in the way he normally does. Not gonna have it every night, but I’d like to see a bounce-back showing from him tomorrow at Los Angeles.

Andre Burakovsky – B

He was part of that line with Kadri and LOC that I thought really brought it late. Burakovsky was absolutely robbed by Gibson in the third period. 

Mikko Rantanen – C+

He gets the bump to a “+” because I liked his intensity in the third. His line had been stifled pretty good, and he showed some fire.

Pavel Francouz – A+

He was fantastic. He played in control, his movements were sharp, and he was tracking the puck really well. That game felt like it was going to be a shutout early on, Frankie was that solid. If they can stay healthy, the Avs have one hell of a tandem in net.