Avs Game 12 Grades: How to lose a game in 10 minutes

Erik Johnson – C+

EJ is becoming a difficult guy to grade, but you almost have to accept that there isn’t going to be a ton of offense from him at this point in his career. At one point in the second period, the puck got to EJ in the offensive zone after a good bit of possession, and it just died on his stick. I think there is a lot to like about how he’s played defensively, though. He’s been very good on the penalty kill this year, and was again tonight, particularly on the penalty kill late in the second period.

Cale Makar – B

Makar seems to be building confidence over the last few games, showing no fear rushing the puck up the ice. He was a little more tentative shooting the puck tonight, registering only one shot attempt, but that’s something he’s been improving lately. He did have a rough turnover behind his own net late in the game to Barkov, but it didn’t lead to much.

Matt Calvert – A

The fourth line, once again, played quite well. Calvert found the open space in the slot a few times this evening, and on the first goal, it helped create everything. You can’t ask for a better start to the year than he’s given them.

Jayson Megna – C

Megna went out there and provided minimal minutes and didn’t hurt the team. You can’t ask for much more than that.

Valeri Nichushkin – B

This man may never score a goal again. He played quite well tonight and had multiple chances to score, including two mini breakaways that his fellow countryman Bobrovsky turned away. He was on the ice late in the game, so you know that the staff does trust him a little bit and nearly ended it at the buzzer.

Nikita Zadorov – C

I thought Z had a rough first period. He had some sloppy plays with the puck and even an icing that was totally avoidable. He turned his game around dramatically in the second period where he hit a crossbar and carried that play over into the third. He may have ended Hawryluk’s season with a massive hit at the offensive blueline, and just a few seconds after the hit, the Avs made it 3-1. Z has a reputation with the refs, no doubt about it, but he can’t be slashing a guy right in front of them when you know they are watching. The loss isn’t obviously all on him, because they were up by a few goals after all, but that’s a penalty that can and needs to be avoided. Bednar was not happy with him after the game.

Tyson Jost – D

This was almost a bizarro game for Jost. He didn’t play well overall with a heightened role and got pounded in terms of shot metrics, but he won 86% of his face-offs, which is something he’s struggled with. His best play of the game came early on when he hit Burakovsky from behind the net for a chance in front.

Ian Cole – C

It’s been a rarity, but Cole managed to finish the game with a minus overall on the evening. He did pick up another assist and had some real nice reads in the neutral zone to break up some plays before they could even get started. Like Zadorov, he’s had an issue staying out of the penalty box, and took two more penalties in this one.

Nathan MacKinnon – A-

The Avs needed MacKinnon to step up a bit in this one, and I thought he played quite well. He didn’t take over the game by any means, but the Panthers clearly focused in on him. At one point on one of his rushes, there were three Panthers players on him. Both of his points came when he escaped the dirty areas to get loose, and that’s something he may have to do a lot of without Rantanen and Landeskog. The overtime play was rough, but I also attribute a lot of that to Barkov just making a great play.

J.T. Compher – D

The shot metrics were not pretty for Compher tonight, as the Avs only controlled 25% of the attempts with him out there. He had a rough icing late in the game when he could have just chipped it up to Jost to send it deep. The depth guys now have a little more attention on them from other teams, and that seemed to get the most of that line in this one.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – A-

If anyone says they saw this much offense coming from Bellemare this early, they’re lying. He hit Calvert in the slot on the first goal, and then immediately crashed the net. That line only knows how to work their butts off, and it created yet another goal. They also controlled the majority of the shot attempts when they were on the ice. The only reason he gets a minus is this clean face-off loss just prior to the Panthers tying the game.

Mark Barberio – C

It’s been a bit of a trend in Barberio’s games for him to have a rough first period, and then settle down after that. It happened again tonight, and I think he played quite well after the first. He made some nice moves in the neutral zone in the second period just a few moments before the Avs had some great chances.

Samuel Girard – B-

I really liked Girard’s game, for the most part, tonight, and there were several times where he would put his muscle into the opposing player and come away with the puck. It appeared in overtime he thought the Avs were going the other way with the puck and cheated offensively, and that ended up biting him big time.

Joonas Donskoi – B+

Donskoi had a good night for the most part, with a few fumbles trying to overhandle the puck in the defensive zone. He’s not a first-line player but didn’t look out of place playing with MacKinnon and went to the dirty areas to get another goal.

Vladislav Kamenev – B-

For his first game of the year, I liked a lot of what Kamenev did. He was aggressive at times, registering three shots on goal, including one where he went from behind the net and decided to try and stuff it. He had a nice cross-ice pass on the first power play of the game, but Burakovsky wasn’t ready for it. In the second, before Cole’s penalty, he lost the puck with little pressure on him, and it led to some scramble before the penalty happened. That may be rust, but when you play limited minutes, mistakes like that get magnified. In a little under 10 minutes, he registered three shots on goal, so at least he’s putting it towards the net.

Matt Nieto – A

This man is balling out hard right now. He crashed the net early in the game for his third goal of the young season, and in the second period, battled on his stomach to clear a puck for a tired penalty-killing unit. He is only one goal away from tying his season total from last year.

Nazem Kadri – D

I think an argument could be made that was Kadri’s worst game in an Avs uniform, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence it came playing on the wing, which is not his natural position. He didn’t look totally comfortable out there and had quite a few turnovers. He did manage to pick up an assist, but I’m not sure how long the experiment of him on the wing should last.

Andre Burakovsky – C

Of everyone on that line, I thought Burakovsky was easily the best and had the most jump. He made a beautiful play in the second period to toe drag around a forward before Bobrovsky gloved his chance down. Four more shot attempts for him in this one.

Philipp Grubauer – C+

Through two periods, Grubauer was playing great. He made an absurd save early in the game, unfortunately on his own teammate, and stood tall for most of the game. The second goal changed direction in front and he ultimately kicked it in his own net while trying to find the puck, and I don’t think he had much of a view on the tying goal. The overtime goal, however, highlighted how poor he is at the poke check, as he was beaten once again. Teams have clearly scouted the Avs and know this is something Grubauer likes to try.