Studs

Sam Girard

Hoooooo baby was this a game from Girard. He deserved a better fate in the production department, but his creation was impressive as he used his legs to extend offensive possessions and his breakouts were strong.

If the Avs ever would want to seriously consider trading Girard, this is the game they would show opposing teams to drive the price up. He was awesome as the Bruins were outshot 16-4 with him on the ice and scoring chances were 13-7 with a 7-2 high-danger chance advantage for the Avalanche. Those are Cale Makar numbers!

Miles Wood

Want to know why Wood was so heavily sought after by the Avalanche? Enter tonight, where his speed and physicality caused problems for a disciplined Bruins team that struggled to contain him.

He was disruptive and looked much healthier than two nights ago in Ottawa. Amazing what a good’s night rest can do for a guy who allegedly lost up to 10 pounds during his bout with the flu.

Tonight was the type of playoff-style game that should only encourage you that Wood is going to be their own Brandon Tanev-style player when the Avs get into the second season.

Once again, Wood-Colton-O’Connor continues to be an absolute handful for teams as they operated as Colorado’s second line head-to-head against Boston’s second line. The Avs trio dominated.

And that should be their third line when they get to the playoffs?

They lost tonight, but it was a small glimpse at how some parts of this lineup have real solutions. Wood was at the forefront of it tonight, but those guys take turns as main characters depending on the game.

Duds

Alexandar Georgiev

It was far from the worst we’ve seen him play, but Georgiev gave up another four goals and the “Fourgiev” jokes are only getting louder. The Avs needed an extra stop and didn’t get it. This conversation is going to continue until Georgiev puts an end to it.

Sam Malinski

Fresh off a fine offensive performance in Ottawa, Malinski brought the defensive zone issues from the Sens game with him tonight but left the offensive magic in Canada’s capital city.

The rookie has a lot of work to do in cleaning up his in-zone defense and that is the area that presents the most concern for his ability to stick in a playoff series. It was a tough night for the kid as he was a total spectator on Boston’s second goal and completely hung Georgiev out to dry as his man walked out of the corner unimpeded by Malinski.

Not a great defensive effort from him, but these are growing pains against a good team.

Josh Manson

I thought Manson actually had a strong game and I liked his work…when he was on the ice. His interference penalty was definitely a penalty but you can argue it was quite soft because you see those types of plays a lot throughout a game.

No, it was the high-sticking penalty that really bothered me. Over four minutes to play in the third period of a one-goal game and he high-sticks a guy in the face while battling in front of his net? These things happen from time to time but you have to play smart situational hockey and Manson fired off a shotgun blast to his team’s own feet with that penalty.

The Bruins subsequently took advantage when Jack Johnson had to play in Manson’s place on the penalty kill and scored when Johnson lost track of David Pastrnak behind him.

All of that starts with Manson’s penalty, which effectively ended any dreams of another Avalanche comeback.

That offside challenge

The challenge was good. That play sure looked offside to…a lot of people. I guess the NHL is considering the puck touching a player’s stick as actual possession now so that’s good to know, as opposed to, you know, actual puck possession. I do like learning new things.

Unsung Hero

Nathan MacKinnon

MacKinnon finished with a greasy goal but I thought he outplayed that result by a wide margin. To be honest, I had MacKinnon as the best skater on the ice tonight. In the game, he had eight shot attempts (six on goal) and created five scoring chances and three high-danger chances on his own.

He was a conduit for creativity and electric offense. His play dictated more like a two or three-point night so ending up with only one is the scales of hockey justice getting back at him for all of his dominance this season.