Avs Game 19 Grades: Flop

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – D

I really liked this line to start the game, and at the start of the second period, as they were causing some problems for the Sharks defense and even drew a penalty, but Bellemare just straight up lost his man on the first Sharks goal, as he got caught puck watching. He had a great chance in the slot in the third period when the game was still close and Jones turned away his shot relatively easily.

Andre Burakovsky – D

The shot share numbers were nice for Burky tonight, but it’s hard to get the image out of your head of him standing in front of the net for several seconds covering no one on the Sharks’ second goal. I understand he’s not a center, but for that play, he had established himself playing the center in the defensive zone, and he failed pretty horribly at that job, standing there and doing absolutely nothing to take away a body or the pass.

J.T. Compher – D

I don’t think he’s without blame on the second goal, but I do think it was mostly a Burakovsky issue and Compher recognized at least that Burky was ignoring his man. Compher had issues most of the game with his passing, however, with some pretty bad saucer passes in the first period that killed some good scoring chances.

Joonas Donskoi – C-

Weird that Donskoi played the second least among the forward core in a game like this with pretty good shot share numbers, but things got jumbled up pretty badly from the second period on with lines. He wasn’t on the ice for any goals on either side, which is better than most of the team can say.

Samuel Girard – C

Girard had a dynamic first period, that included a goal post and then a highlight-reel goal. You could tell he was getting a little gassed though, as he missed the puck for a breakaway against at the end of the period, and when the camera cut to him after the period, he was bent over sucking for air. The fatigue looked to hit him the rest of the game, as there was a considerable dip in periods two and three.

Ryan Graves – F

Already missing three of their top six defensemen, the Avs couldn’t afford Graves to have a bad game. He did just that and more. He was on the ice for the first five Sharks goals, and the fifth one was a showcase of his struggles this year. Instead of skating back and living to fight another day, he took a chance swinging wildly at the puck, and as soon as he missed it, he was in trouble. Just a nightmare of a game from him.

Philipp Grubauer – C-

The unfortunate thing about this game is that Grubauer was trying to hold the Avs in it despite their defensive miscues. He faced multiple breakaways that he was able to stop until the Leonard goal late. Even to start the third period, when the Avs were miserable, he was making the stops, and then the puck goes in off his own teammate’s stick, and things went downhill from there.

Tyson Jost – D+

Jost had an awesome first, tenacious on the puck and great on the penalty kill. A mistake with the puck in the second period helped turn this game around for the Sharks and given how little offense that fourth line brings, a mistake like that proved costly.

Nazem Kadri – C

Kadri has been getting a ton of chances over the last week or so, a lot of them high danger chances, but the finish just hasn’t been there. Jones had his number on all seven of his shots on Monday evening, and Kadri’s frustration seemed to boil over at the end of the game with Donato.

Gabriel Landeskog – D-

The top line was miserable all night long at even strength, and Landeskog really struggled in one spot where he typically doesn’t…clearing the puck out of his own zone cleanly. Several turnovers at the defensive blue line led to extended zone time for the Sharks and one reason why that line got crushed in terms of shot share. He avoids a total loss with his second goal in two games.

Jacob MacDonald – C

Playing MacDonald in your top four is just not ideal. He’s been a pleasant surprise, but not something you want to do. He did have a nice rush to the net in the second period but also wondering how the heck he even got there. He does lack a lot of structure in his game and he was especially all over the place in the third.

Nathan MacKinnon – D-

This might have been MacKinnon’s best power play game since game two against St. Louis, as he was moving and creating chances in the offensive zone. That’s the good news. The bad news is that his game at even strength might have been his worst. Couture’s line dominated his line, and too often at even strength, MacKinnon settled for perimeter play. That’s been a concerning trend with the top line this season.

Valeri Nichushkin – C

He seemed to get moved up the lineup halfway through the game, which may have just come from the fact that he was one of the few forwards playing well defensively. Got back to cover for a defenseman and avoid an odd-man rush against in the second period.

Logan O’Connor – C

He caused a lot of problems to start the second period, with some heavy shifts in the offensive zone and I believe he even drew a penalty. However, he missed a wide-open net early in the game and just prior to the Karlsson goal, got walked by Patrick Marleau to keep the play alive.

Mikko Rantanen – F

Just a bad game from him at even strength that was made worse by taking a game-changing penalty that led to the huge Karlsson goal. The penalty came moments after Jones stopped him all alone in front of the net.

Dan Renouf – D

Didn’t notice him much last game. Noticed him a lot tonight, with at least one bad icing and some tough moments on the ice. Unfortunately, this is kind of what happens when you get down to the 12th guy on your depth chart.

Brandon Saad – F

I did not notice Saad much at all tonight, and that’s not a good thing. Was one of only two forwards to finish with zero shots on net, and only attempted one himself, with being on the ice for three goals against.

Conor Timmins – C-

I didn’t notice Timmins much through two periods, probably because he barely played. With Graves’ struggles, he seemed to get on the ice more in the third, and I liked how aggressive he was playing. He was still making some mistakes with the puck, but at least he was pushing the play. Made a great play to stop a breakaway before the game fell apart completely.

Devon Toews – B-

Depite playing over 22 minutes at even strength, he wasn’t on the ice for a single Sharks even-strength goal. That’s got to mean something. He seems much better at conserving his energy than guys like Makar and Girard, who skate with the puck so much.