Avs-Devils game grades: Still a pulse

Why can’t every game be on a weekend afternoon? They’re always more fun, everybody is always in a good mood and the hockey always seems to be good too. Well, not if you were a New Jersey Devils fan Sunday.

Pretty easy win for the Avs, whose playoff hopes remain on life support. But, hey, could be worse.

The grades:

Mikko Rantanen (B) – He had a couple of “wow” skill moves with the puck and generally was hard to play against. Nothing on the score sheet, but a good showing nonetheless.

Nathan MacKinnon (A-) – Had a solid assist on the first goal by Tyson Barrie, and an empty-netter. He had some kind of leg ding in the third period and, while he kept playing, seemed to be bothered by it. At least for a shift or two. By game’s end, he seemed back to normal.

Derick Brassard (B-) – He had a couple really nice passes. But, in general, his presence has been less noticeable in the last few games.

Alexander Kerfoot (B) – Had a great scoring chance in the first period, but just missed. Just has had trouble producing points of late, but I thought he played pretty well here.

Carl Soderberg (C+) – Had a rough day in the faceoff circle, which is unusual. He lost nine of 11 draws. But he was perfectly OK otherwise.

Matt Calvert (B) – Solid, workmanlike game. Played well on the PK, blocking a couple shots.

Sven Andrighetto (A) – Assisted on both Avs goals. He’s been better of late. Probably too late to save his job for next year here, but at least he’s still out there competing.

Colin Wilson (C+) – Had a brilliant scoring chance early in the game, but held on to puck too long and got it stripped. Just hasn’t given much on the score sheet in a while.

Tyson Jost (B-) – Good puck-possession numbers. But didn’t get name on score sheet. Possessing the puck is good. Doing something tangible with it is even better.

J.T. Compher (B-) – I mean, solid game I guess. He had OK puck-possession numbers and didn’t get any points, but this isn’t the NBA, where top players score every game.

Gabriel Bourque (B) – Played 12:42, pretty high for him, and was a plus-1.

Ryan Graves (B) – He played as a fourth-line forward in this one, on right wing on a line with Andrighetto and Bourque. And you know what? I thought he looked good as a power forward. Had three shot attempts in game.

*Update: No, Graves didn’t actually play up front as much as I thought, after looking at the shift charts. My bad.

Erik Johnson (B) – Solid game, nothing too flashy. That works fine for a defenseman’s report card.

Sam Girard (B) – Similar game to his partner, Johnson. He did make a very nice pass to Brassard early in the game that could have easily resulted in a goal. Be nice if he could put up a few more points, but he’s good pretty good the last couple games.

Nikita Zadorov (B+) – Like every Avs defender, he had a solid game. He moved his feet well and generally was solid with puck.

Ian Cole (B) – He got called for another kneeing penalty, which he was definitely not happy about. Solid effort otherwise.

Patrik Nemeth (B) – Solid showing, pretty physical out there. I think he’s been pretty good for a while now, for the most part. He’s probably not coming back next year, but hey.

Tyson Barrie (A) – Two goals. Hey, one was one of the luckier ones you’re ever going to see. But it came as a result of him putting a puck on the net.

Philipp Grubauer (A) – His third shutout of the season. If he is to be the new No. 1 goalie next year, as I anticipate (yes, this is me saying I don’t think Varly will be back) he’s given fans more hope with his play of late.