Avs Game 67 Grades: Help Wanted

Mark Barberio – C-

I really didn’t mind Barberio for most of this game. I thought he played quite well, for the most part, but did think there was a big dip in his game in the third period. He and Donskoi got mixed up big time on the dagger goal by Vancouver, as there was no communication.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C+

Bellemare joined Landeskog in the Broken Nose Club after his fight last game. The Avs controlled the puck big time with Bellemare on the ice, and although he was out there for two goals against, I’m not sure he did anything wrong on them.

Ian Cole – F

Last game, it was Zadorov. Tonight, Cole had the nightmare. After fumbling a play at the offensive blueline he gave the Canucks a good break for their third goal, and after he was on for another goal against, Cole pretty much sat the rest of the night. We’ll see if he gets the Z treatment next game.

J.T. Compher – F

Compher got annihilated in the face-off circle, winning only one of the nine he took, and the Avs, who controlled the puck pretty much all game, didn’t do that when J.T was on the ice. The Avs only registered one shot on goal with Compher on the ice at even strength.

Kevin Connauton – C+

All things considered, I thought he played pretty well. He was active and not afraid to jump into the play at all. He had some fumbles with the puck but overall played okay. It’s a sign of where the defense is at right now that he can come up and immediately he’s getting 19 minutes.

Joonas Donskoi – D

Another donut game for Donskoi in terms of shots on goal, and he just looked completely out of it on the dagger goal by the Canucks. He was very good last game but this was not his night.

Sheldon Dries – F

If you’re not going to play much, you can’t hurt the team when you’re out there. As the third man high, Dries made a poor read on the Canucks’ second goal and it cost them big time. He barely played after that.

Pavel Francouz – D

Well, that’s back to back starts where Frankie did not look his best. He got beat cleanly on a few shots glove side, and the Canucks really seemed to be attacking him there. He went for the poke check on the game-winning goal and got caught in no man’s land. Hopefully sitting out a game didn’t take him out of his rhythm.

Samuel Girard – B-

Sam embarrassed Tanner Pearson in the third with his patented spin move and nearly capped it off on the pass to Landeskog, but the Captain put it over the net. Another strong game, but given he’s the only natural puck-mover without Makar in the lineup, he has been getting attacked a lot by the opposition.

Ryan Graves – D+

Great hit towards the end of the game that nearly turned the momentum a bit, but it really felt like plays were dying on his stick a lot of the night. It’s tough to say how bad that pinch was on the second Canucks goal because I think Dries screwed up quite a bit, but Graves committed early and got beat.

Erik Johnson – A-

Other than flopping like a fish in the defensive zone a lot of the night, EJ was their best defenseman by far. It was nice to see him beat a goalie for the first time since October, and he seems to have some real mojo going of late. Made a lot of nice plays offensively.

Vladislav Kamenev – C-

I know he got criticized on the backcheck by Rycroft on the Canucks’ second goal, but he worked a good bit to even get back that close when you watch the entire play develop. He was super feisty tonight, so it was nice to see him get engaged.

Tyson Jost – D-

Took a nasty spill into the boards towards the end of the second, but his guy scored twice in this one, including the game-winning goal, where he just let Roussel get free reign going to the net.

Gabriel Landeskog – B+

You want to see him bury the feed from Girard, but once again, Landy stepped up with the production, and his goal was a great shot coming off the wall. Suddenly his offensive production is looking a bit like it has the last few years.

Nathan MacKinnon – B+

MacK was all about the spinning backhand tonight, as he had to have tried it at least three times. He spun off Hughes for the EJ goal and did a great job on the forecheck on Landy’s. The power play, however, is a mess and he needs to just be better there.

Vladislav Namestnikov – C-

I thought Pettersson went down easily, but Namestnikov did grab him pretty clearly, so the optics were there on his penalty. He spent a good chunk of time in the box in this one unfortunately, as he couldn’t wait to get after Tanev. Would love to see him shoot on his late two on one with MacKinnon instead of forcing the pass.

Valeri Nichushkin – B-

Nichushkin had a sloppy first period, but a great goal in the second really picked his game up. He had a great chance on the four on four in the third to let it rip, but instead passed up a great shot to try to make a move.

Matt Nieto – C+

Nieto made a great play on Nichushkin’s goal to feel the pressure and pass it off, but most people will remember the missed attempt with an empty net in the third period that could have tied the game.

Logan O’Connor – D

Three shots on goal in just six minutes of ice time, but he looked a little timid after his turnover last game got him benched. That line played sparingly after the first.