Avs Game 47 Grades: Complete Game

Pierre Edouard Bellemare – B+

Bellemare already has his career-high in points with 35 games left in the year. Just let that sink in for a second. Great play by him at the defensive blue line to deflect the puck away for Calvert. He had a strong game and even though it wasn’t at even strength, it was nice to see those guys get in on the offense.

Andre Burakovsky – B+

I really liked Burakovsky’s puck distribution at even strength in this one. He made some really nice passes to create things and showed a crazy burst up the ice in the second period to take it from the Avs goal line to the other side of the ice in just moments.

Matt Calvert – A

Talk about a guy whose skills have improved a lot over the course of just a year. That shorthanded goal was beautiful, and the penalty kill was very good tonight with him playing a rather large role.

Ian Cole – C+

Cole was just solid with nothing spectacular in this one. It felt like that pair was on the ice for a lot of shots against in the final 30 minutes, but they all seemed to come from the outside, so you’ll take that.

J.T. Compher – B-

Compher moved up to the third line in this one and seemed to become the big face-off guy, winning nine of the thirteen he took overall. Nothing spectacular but that line seemed slightly more dangerous with a right shot on it rather than Nieto.

Samuel Girard – B

Girard settled back in tonight after a rougher game against Dallas. Led the Avs in ice time on the blueline by a pretty significant amount, and we even got a tornade. Took a dirty hit from Kane at the end of the game but seemed fine.

Ryan Graves – A

He keeps picking up points (and goals), and there’s not much you can do to stop it. He actually played the least among the defense tonight, and while I don’t think that’s how little he should play, he seemed to have more energy overall. Made another real nice pinch in the second that could have been another goal.

Philipp Grubauer – A

The Avs defense made things relatively easy for Grubauer tonight, as a lot of the shots came from the outside, but you have to stop those ones too, and Grubi avoided giving up anything weak that could have changed the momentum. Hopefully, he can build some momentum going into Saturday’s game.

Erik Johnson – B-

I liked EJ in this one. I don’t like him flopping around like a fish on the penalty kill, but that’s how he’s always been. He had a weird moment in the second period where he could have touched the puck leaving the ice and didn’t, but it looked like he was in some pain on the bench, so that could have been why.

Nazem Kadri – A-

Kadri did everything BUT score in this one. Had some fantastic chances, including a nice toe drag in the slot in the first period. His face-off win at the end of the first for Makar’s goal ended up being a huge momentum changer in this one, and is not the first goal the Avs have picked up this season off a face-off win by him.

Vladislav Kamenev – A

I loved Kamenev’s game tonight. He had some serious swagger in the first period and got a shift with Landeskog and Rantanen for his reward. Picked up an assist in the second period off a face-off win, and looks like he deserves to stay in the lineup over Jost, at least to me. Took a dirty hit from Kane, but you love to see his next shift coming back and throwing his body around.

Tyson Jost – B-

Jost did some things well tonight, but as we have mentioned before, at some point the production has to follow. He did seem to have the puck on his stick a lot more in this one than in the past, but so close, yet so far with him.

Gabriel Landeskog – B

Landy didn’t have a great night with the puck overall, but he decided to bring out the anger in this one, possibly because he was forced to wear that outdoor jersey so much. He got into it more than a few times, and sometimes you just need to see that side of him, especially in a game that never felt in danger.

Nathan MacKinnon – C

Avs aren’t going to win many games when Nate looks like he did in this one, but it’s nice to see them pull out the victory. He’s carried them far too much of late, so he’s allowed a game like this.

Cale Makar – B+

The play to corral the rolling puck, wait for a lane, and put the puck past traffic at the end of the first was elite. He still doesn’t seem all the way there with the puck, but tonight was a good step forward.

Valeri Nichushkin – A

You can’t stop a 300 pound Russian going towards the net at full speed, and Brent Burns seemed to want none of it. That was the type of goal that Nuke was scoring his rookie year, and we’ve seen glimpses of it this year. A really good game from him.

Matt Nieto – C

A strong game from Nieto, who played the role of defensive conscious with Jost and Kamenev in this one. Almost had a nice deflection goal in the second period, one that he really could use.

Mikko Rantanen – C

Everything just seems a half-step off for Mikko right now. He was in some good spots, but couldn’t finish, including a whiff on a one-timer in the slot in the second.

Nikita Zadorov – B-

It’s remarkable how good he is defending the rush because he can have his issues in the zone. But off the rush, he’s elite, and teams don’t even try much anymore. Liked him a lot on the PK holding the blue line, and it’s interesting that the Avs give him free rein to chase down the puck carrier on the entry because they know that’s where he’s at his best.