Avs Game 14 Grades: Another avalanche by the Avalanche

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – B-

He took another penalty but it was completely made-up nonsense. He also scored a goal, the seventh to make it 7-0, so it’s not like I’m giving him tons of credit for that. A fine performance after a mess of a first game. Something to build from.

Andre Burakovsky – A+

I’ve always been harder on Burakovsky than I should be but it’s entirely because my expectations for him are very high. Tonight, he lived up to that by doing what he does best – score goals. When he’s shooting, he’s at his best. He followed a game I hated two nights ago with one that is “classic Burky”.

Samuel Girard – B-

Not a big night from Girard at all but also not one of those nights where you were frustrated by him in any meaningful way. He was fine. When the scoring that happened around him from the defense goes down, just fine is, well, just fine.

Darren Helm – C+

Got an assist on Makar’s second goal but otherwise wasn’t asked to do too much and wasn’t part of a whole lot.

Erik Johnson – B

I thought EJ was awful against Vancouver. He didn’t play a ton tonight in a game that was very special teams-dominant but scored a goal and was much better at taking care of the puck and in his own zone. We’ve seen him consistently excel in more limited minutes and tonight was another very good example of what he’s capable of if the Avalanche defense is ever fully healthy.

Jack Johnson – C-

Most of Johnson’s game tonight was in the “meh” category but I wanted to see him maybe take matters into his own hands when he was getting manhandled near the end of the game. Just beat that guy up. He clearly wanted that smoke, why not give it to him?

Tyson Jost – B-

Jost snagged two assists tonight, which is great. I’ve been saying he needed to find a way to more production and he did. The big play he made was springing Nichushkin for his breakaway, though I think it was probably more good fortune that Nuke tracked down a puck in open ice than anything Jost truly intended. He’s owed a little offensive luck, so it’s all good. Another assist on the NAK goal was neat. Good for him.

Nazem Kadri – B

Well he wasn’t going to keep scoring three points in every game…so he had to settle for just two tonight. He’s the engine of this offense right now.

Darcy Kuemper – C+

When staked to a 7-0 lead, a 7-3 final score doesn’t feel great, especially when the third goal was just a bad goal to give up. That said, he made some huge saves early in the game when it was competitive and that’s where I’m really focusing on. Giving up a couple of meaningless late-game goals that made the home team/crowd feel less bad about themselves is just the work of a good samaritan.

Gabriel Landeskog – B-

His most notable contribution of the night was a fantastic backcheck when the game was still competitive. The rest of the night he was pretty quiet. It’s okay. The rest of the team sure wasn’t.

Cale Makar – A+

Welcome back, superstar.

Jayson Megna – C

Much better night for Megna after he got bopped against the Canucks, but still nothing special. He had one takeaway and two penalty minutes, otherwise put up all zeroes in the box score. It’s fine, but it’s not great.

Ryan Murray – C+

He got an assist and was even in shot metrics. I didn’t really notice him too much beyond that.

Alex Newhook – B+

I loved the jump Newhook played with tonight. He got bodied a little bit but he needs nights like that to understand how it’s going to be for a player a touch on the smaller side of the scale. Newhook snagged an assist but also put up sterling shot metrics on a night where he was competitive throughout. Really liked it from him.

Valeri Nichushkin – A

Great goal, which felt like it totally deflated the Kraken. Was back to his normal great shot metrics ways tonight after a departure against Vancouver two nights ago. Loved the finish.

Logan O’Connor – C

It’s fine from LOC but I don’t think he’s the solution in the role he’s playing right now. He’s not bad or anything, I just think the role he excels is really missing his presence. He has a home in the Avs lineup and it isn’t where he’s currently playing.

Mikko Rantanen – B-

Rantanen was given credit for one of Makar’s goals for most of the game but ultimately it went back to Makar. He still finished with an assist, but the Avs are succeeding right now despite two-thirds of their top line just being solid but unspectacular.

Kiefer Sherwood – C+

He got his first point of the season! Good for him.

Devon Toews – A-

He’s a monster. He might be the NHL’s most underrated star-caliber player. I get it why and all (look at the talent around him!) but he’s awesome.