Avs Game 4 Grades: Out of their Depth

Anton Blidh – C

He came, he saw, and he exited. The old one-day call-up. He had one shot on an odd-man rush in the first that probably wasn’t the best shot to take, but he’s not here for his creativity.

Bowen Byram – B+

Probably the best defender on the team in this game, and helped create the second Rantanen goal by pinching in backdoor. Almost helped give the Avs the lead in the third period when he pinched down low and hit Newhook in the slot for a good look.

Andrew Cogliano – D

His limitations are pretty noticeable when being asked to play too much. Play just kind of died on his stick and he killed a good cycle in the third period with a pass to the point that was easily deflected out of the zone.

J.T. Compher – C–

Made a nice little flip pass to EJ for a good look halfway through the second period, but beyond that, didn’t do much of anything offensively. Getting moved up to the second line and not getting any shots on net isn’t ideal, and the gap on the first Jets goal for that seam pass was partially huge because of him.

Alexander Georgiev – C

I don’t put any of the regulation goals on him, but I didn’t *love* the overtime winner. He was drifting one way and the shot went the other way. Still, for all we know, it might have gone in regardless because it was labeled.

Samuel Girard – C

Felt like his passing in the neutral zone and exiting the defensive zone was just a little off. Had good underlying numbers and had a real strong defensive shift against the much bigger Wheeler in the third.

Erik Johnson – C

I’ve gotten used to the EJ slide over the years and have come to accept it for the most part, but no clue what he was doing on that first goal. If he uses his stick instead of trying to sit on the puck, the goal might not have happened.

Martin Kaut – C+

Pretty quiet for two periods but came on really strong in the third period, just needs to finish, or at the very least, hit the net with some of his chances. Ended the game with six shot attempts at even strength, tied for the team lead. Conditioning still is an issue as he gets off the ice pretty quickly.

Artturi Lehkonen – C

Busted his butt in front of the net and on the shift leading to the first Rantanen goal. Had some good looks the rest of the evening but was unable to bury anything, including a two on one in the third period.

Nathan MacKinnon – B

Really hard to put any blame on the top line guys because they’re the only ones producing consistently, but also were out there for three of the goals against, so it kind of evened out. The shift on the first Rantanen goal was just absurdly dominant. Seemed to be some miscommunication on the overtime goal as MacK seemed to think Rantanen was going to get the puck and that led to the odd-man rush.

Cale Makar – C-

Doesn’t quite look like the Cale we know, which happened last year in October too. Defensively, the top pair is spending a lot of time in their own end, but then they’ll have the dominant shifts with the top line and everything looks okay for a minute.

Josh Manson – B

Really strong underlying numbers. Had one horrific turnover from behind his own net in the third that the Jets completely botched, and beyond that, the Avs controlled 75% of the shot attempts with him on the ice.

Jason Megna – C

Like Blidh, sent back down after the game, but wouldn’t be surprised if it’s for cap purposes. Only noticed him on a shot attempt that was blocked in the third but did well in the face-off circle.

Alex Newhook – C-

He got some shots off tonight, including a good look from Byram in the third period, but doesn’t look super confident with the puck on his stick. The duo of Newhook and Erod have yet to find any sort of groove on the ice. At least looks okay defensively.

Valeri Nichushkin – B+

Started to really find his groove on the second line in the third period with Kaut, but got moved around a lot in the second period and spent time with the big boys, which worked wonders. Has been automatic on the powerplay so far.

Logan O’Connor – D

Puck management was not strong. The inability to get the puck deep on the first Jets goal proved costly, as the PK was all discombobulated after that.

Mikko Rantanen – A-

Apparently he’s going to score a billion points this year. Not sure what the Jets were doing because he scored the same exact goal just minutes apart and they didn’t seem to care all that much. Incredible assist on the Nuke goal. I couldn’t give him a full on A or A+ because he just missed the cross-ice pass on the Jets’ third goal, and I don’t really know what he was doing in OT after he missed the net by about three feet.

Evan Rodrigues – D

The signs of life he showed last game went away. No shots on net and a lot of mistakes with the puck. They definitely will need more from him…very soon.

Devon Toews – D

Maybe an injury was bugging him tonight, judging by how he missed time in the third period and seemed to be headed for x-rays after the game, but got a little off his gap on the second Jets goal and has been on the ice for a lot of goals the last two games. Spent a lot of time in his own end. An injury to him would not be good, though.