Nicolas Aube-Kubel – B

My problem with NAK has too often been his biggest contribution being in the first period and then he just does nothing. Not the case tonight. I really liked his game throughout and his physicality showed why he is a legitimate option for the lineup in the postseason. He can handle that kind of game.

Andre Burakovsky – D

Had a two-on-one opportunity that got away when he fired a missile of a pass across the slot when it was totally unnecessary. He normally shows much better touch on that play. Defensively worked hard but was just too ineffective throughout.

Bowen Byram – B

There’s confidence and then there’s Byram flying up the ice alongside Makar in a breakout that left all three forwards chasing behind the play. He’s something else. Another primary assist. He’s the real deal.

J.T. Compher – D

That thing that happens when the team has to elevate Compher in the lineup and he has a strong game but disappears completely the next game? That happened tonight. He just didn’t do anything of note in nearly 17 minutes of ice time.

Samuel Girard – B

I loved Girard in this game. He handled the physicality well and moved pucks the way you expect. His pairing next to Manson produced excellent results overall and solid head-to-head against the Ovechkin line. If you’re looking to be encouraged by Girard’s potential in a playoff series, tonight’s game is a great example.

Darren Helm – C

I kind of liked Helm at times tonight. The energy was there. Not much else, but the energy!

Jack Johnson – F

Is there a lower grade to give than an F? Johnson has had worse nights in shot metrics this season but I’m not sure he’s had a worse night in high-profile mistakes that might have cost his team the game. He flubs the puck in the first that leads to Washington’s first goal and then just minutes after the Avs tie the game on a garbage goal, he floats a puck to LOC that gets taken off his stick because it was the easiest read imaginable and then he flailed uselessly on the ensuing two-on-one that ended up in the net. Hell, he even lost the battle at the side of the night on Washington’s PP goal where Kuznetsov made a better play on the puck. For a guy trying to make a case for a job in the exact kind of muck-and-grind atmosphere the team will see in the postseason, this was the exact opposite.

Artturi Lehkonen – A-

You know, halfway through the game I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t as big a fan of Lehkonen’s game as other outings. I thought he was losing more battles than normal and the power play being geared around him shooting from the bumper spot goosed his shot on goal totals. But really, so what? He was consistently involved, he was dangerous, he scored the game-tying goal that should have mattered more than it did. He was good. I was being too whiny.

Kurtis MacDermid – A

MacDermid’s entire Avalanche tenure will forever be validated by him rocking Tom Wilson and then when Wilson skated to the bench and tried to get a piece of MacDermid, he got the wrong end of the business yet again. Has anyone ever successfully bullied Tom Wilson before? Hilarious. Also exactly what you want from MacDermid, whose play with the puck was bad but his physicality was great.

Nathan MacKinnon – B-

The shot metrics look good and MacKinnon was dangerous. He just made life a little too easy for the Caps. His best scoring chances he didn’t even put on net and his predictability with the puck allowed a smart-scouting team like the Caps to pretty easily clog his shooting lanes. Wasn’t a bad night, but certainly needed just a little something more from him.

Cale Makar – B

Makar is great but you can see where Toews elevates him even more. Next to Byram and Girard, Makar was good but not great. Next to Johnson, he got beaten up. That’s the level of anchor Johnson was tonight. Makar got an assist but could’ve had more. He did not cash on a number of very good scoring chances.

Josh Manson – B

I love this guy’s game! I’m sorry, you can’t stop me from believing Manson and Girard are going to be the linchpin that pulls Colorado’s defense together in a best-of-seven series. Tonight was more proof they can handle important matchups when put together. He had some great reads offensively to extend sequences and remained solid on defense. Hopefully, the apparent leg injury he suffered in the first period is really good to go and not something that will linger.

Ben Meyers – B

He didn’t play a lot, but this grade is all about me trying to find skills I think are going to translate here. He’s speedy but he’s reading the ice really well already. You can see the IQ in basically every shift. He’ll only get more comfortable in time, but early returns tell me the Avs have a real player here. It’s too bad he won’t be part of the postseason run.

Valeri Nichushkin – A

How do you stop this version of Nichushkin? He’s taking guys wide to draw penalties. He’s beating goalies with a snap shot they aren’t expecting. He’s blowing guys up along the wall. He’s winning board battles. He’s outworking everyone. This is the greatest reclamation project imaginable. This guy rules.

Alex Newhook – D

Newhook was essentially nowhere to be found tonight. A big part of Colorado’s recent depth scoring surge has been Newhook driving play and putting himself into good spots. He didn’t do much of any of that tonight. A tough night for the kid.

Logan O’Connor – D

So, I said some things about Jack Johnson above, but Logan O’Connor played a role in some of those same failures. I’m not dinging LOC as much for the game-winning goal as Johnson but certainly he could have been more prepared for the puck and made a better play, mostly because he made no play at all. He also didn’t tie up Ovechkin’s stick on the PP goal and just let him tap it in freely. Those are both a little hindsight-y on my part, but when you’re as limited as LOC is the details matter. Tonight he didn’t get it done in that area.

Mikko Rantanen – C

Some of that really soft stuff crept back into his game tonight. He was pretty physical without the puck but really easy to bump off it when he did possess the damn thing. I’m kind of confused by Rantanen’s role on the PP right now. Tonight he wasn’t even trying to shoot, just take the puck down low and either move it behind the net or into the triangle out front to Lehkonen or Nichushkin. It’s kind of an odd approach for a guy with 36 goals?

Nico Sturm – C+

I didn’t love Sturm’s night. It was funny, though, because right before his assist on Lehkonen’s goal, I was saying how offensively he looks like he lacks any and all confidence. Then he makes a nice play to get the puck out front. Good job him, bad job me.

Darcy Kuemper – B

He made some big saves. He gave up three goals that he didn’t really have a ton of a chance on. The first goal is a great shot, the second is an awesome bounce for the Caps that ends perfectly, and the third is a perfectly executed two-on-one. The Avs needed one incredible save and he didn’t have it in him tonight. He was otherwise quite good. Some big rebounds but that’s also just who he is.