Avs Game 17 Grades: Turn and Burn for the win

Erik Johnson – B

I feel like we’re at the point where if you don’t notice EJ out there, he’s doing his job, and he did that for over 23 minutes tonight. A quietly solid game from him. His guy ended up scoring on the first goal of the night, but that was a very flukey bounce to begin with.

Cale Makar – A+

What he is doing is truly remarkable. A rookie defenseman coming in at a point per game this far into the season is truly bananas, and unlike earlier in the year, his points of late haven’t been cheapies. The acceleration on the game-winner is something you aren’t going to see come along very often. He could have had more than two as well, particularly if he was a little more selfish on the 2 on 1 in the third that he created all by himself.

Matt Calvert – B

I found the top line to be underwhelming overall on the evening, but Calvert had a strong game on the forecheck and another workmanlike evening on the penalty kill. The penalty he took was one of those weird over the boards penalties that you know no one intends to take.

Valeri Nichushkin – B+

This man will never score again, and it’s absurd what is going on. He did not allow Korpisalo to get a good look at the Girard shot that led to the Avs getting on the board, but just moments later he got absolutely robbed by Korpisalo on what looked like a for sure goal. The hit from behind he took from Jones just before Makar’s first goal was a bit much. On the forecheck he was tremendous all night long.

Tyson Jost – A-

Jost was a man on a mission on the forecheck this evening, and it was nice to see him get rewarded on the scoreboard as well with two assists. His play to get it over to Makar required some patience on his end and worked to perfection.

Ryan Graves – D+

Graves was wildly inconsistent in this one. He was getting worked early in the game by Dubois, but also made plays to break up some rushes. He turned it over just before the Blue Jackets’ second goal but played a role in Makar’s first goal. He played well on the penalty kill but handled the puck like a grenade in the third period. Just a very up and down game from him, and taking a penalty early didn’t help.

Ian Cole – C+

I don’t like when Cole gets too cute with the puck on the breakout, and it nearly burned him in the second period, but then again, it worked on the breakout just 30 seconds before Makar tied the game. He stepped back into the lineup and for the most part, just kept it simple on the evening.

Nathan MacKinnon – C+

A rather pedestrian game from the Avs superstar, but the amount of hacks and hooks he has to deal with during every game is absurd. If the refs truly called it by the book, the Avs would have a handful of power plays every game just because of MacKinnon.

T.J. Tynan – B

Tynan did a lot of good things tonight, and when he was on the ice, the Avs didn’t really give up much. He’s pretty good on the forecheck for a guy his size, but he knows where to go on the ice. It was surprising to see Bednar using him to protect the lead late in the game, but he has a history with Tynan in the AHL.

J.T. Compher – B

Compher was shooting the puck on the power play tonight, but I didn’t like a ton of the shots he was taking, because he was waiting too long to rip it and Korpisalo was able to get in position. He had a few chances to let it go right away and just waited a second too long. Other than that, he played very well and his defensive role may increase a bit more if Bellemare is out for any amount of time.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – INC

Just really hope he’s OK. That was a scary play.

Mark Barberio – C

I know the refs were letting things go in the third, which is frustrating, but Barbs penalty was a legit penalty and something you just have to avoid on something that was very clearly going to be icing. He had some good moments in this one, including a nice breakup on a zone entry on the Blue Jackets power play.

Samuel Girard – A

Far too often, Girard is too hesitant to shoot the puck. There was no hesitation at all on his goal in the first, and I loved it. He got the puck and knew exactly what he wanted to do with it. Beyond that, he was back to being the automatic breakout that he has been for most of his career.

Joonas Donskoi – B

Donskoi was playing in his 300th game, and I thought he was definitely the best forward on his line. He was hounding the puck on the forecheck, controlling it when he was on the ice, and played well defensively as well. It was a different performance than the one he had last game, but that doesn’t make it any less valuable.

Vladislav Kamenev – A

It’s disappointing to see his ice time at ES be far and away the lowest on the Avs in this one, because he once again played very well, and picked up his third primary assist in three games. The best part about the assist was how decisive he was getting it to Girard, wasting no time whipping it back to him. He had some fantastic moments in third as well. Finished the night at +7/-1 in shot attempts, and I love seeing him throw his body around.

Matt Nieto – B+

Don’t look now but Nieto is on pace for over 40 points. For the second straight game, he drew eyes to him before dropping it back to the defense, which created another goal. With all the bodies dropping, he just keeps producing in different ways.

Nazem Kadri – B

This was a bizarre night for Kadri. He was awful in the first half of the game. He missed several open chances in front, and also turned it over way too much, including one that led to a huge chance in front of his own net in the first period. But he made a tremendous play springing the game-winner, and even though he got lucky on the fourth goal with the deflection, he made the play at the blueline with the steal. He just keeps finding ways to produce.

Andre Burakovsky – C

Burakovsky was shooting in this one, but none of them were getting through to the net, as he had three of his four attempts blocked. If Bellemare is indeed out for a while, I would imagine he’ll move back into the top six as things shuffle around.

Pavel Francouz – B-

For the second straight game, he gave up an awful goal, and Bednar said as much after the game. But unlike last game, he locked it down after that. The Avs helped him a lot, as they kept a lot of it to the outside and let him see some shots. And how can you not love the guy taking a shot at the empty net at the end? That was awesome.