Avs Game 20 Grades: Superstar takeover

Erik Johnson – C

I liked EJ jumping into the play in this one, as his pinches were better timed overall. His defensive game I thought was a little off the mark. One thing I don’t understand, and it could be the coaches choice here, but EJ taking a near three minute shift when the Canucks had their net empty. That’s going to gas anyone, and Pettersson burned him on the tying goal. You do have to love EJ going off after the game on the Calvert situation.

Cale Makar – A+

I said he was human after last game, but now I’m not so sure. He had some rough moments in the first period and then just took off, assisting on four straight goals, including a long bomb to Kadri. And the offense is overshadowing just how steady he has become defensively. There was one turnover late in the third I didn’t like but other than that, he’s golden.

Matt Calvert – B

Calvert had a strong game overall, but the concern here is his health. The whistle should have been blown dead, no questions asked, and now we just have to wait and hear how he’s doing. You just hope everything is OK.

Jayson Megna – C

Sure, you watch every game and wonder why Megna is the guy up here and not an actual prospect, but he’s not hurting the team out there. He’s just a guy and has some good speed, so he can keep up.

Valeri Nichushkin – B+

I was hoping he’d get a chance with the net empty but it wasn’t meant to be. Another strong game overall from him, and I really liked him defensively. He made a great play in the third coming down low to deflect a pass to a Canucks player right in the slot.

Nikita Zadorov – B-

I thought Z was really strong overall, outside of the first five minutes of the third where it wasn’t pretty for him. The shot metrics were ugly but he looked fine to my eye. Apparently he drew up the opening goal himself, so kudos to future coach Z. You love seeing him rush up the ice like he did in the first period.

Ryan Graves – D

Two more penalties for Graves, both of which were him chasing the play. For a guy whose foot speed is the biggest issue, that can’t happen. He only played 2:49 in the final 25 minutes of the game, so a night off on Tuesday wouldn’t be very surprising.

Ian Cole – D-

I can’t give a guy back to back F’s, but this was close. He got completely burned on the opening goal by the Canucks, showcasing his lack of foot speed. He took a penalty in the final two minutes of the second period because he turned the puck over, and he was out there for the final two goals against by the Canucks. The hot start after his injury seems forever ago.

Nathan MacKinnon – A+

That was a man on a mission. The first goal was Ovechkin-esque, the assist in the third made the Canucks look like a beer league team, and in overtime, he was not going to be stopped. The only person that can stop Nathan MacKinnon could be Nathan MacKinnon.

T.J. Tynan – C+

Tynan has not looked completely out of place in the NHL, but a guy who doesn’t score a ton of goals in the AHL being the guy setup to shoot on the PP is not great. He had a chance in the third that was stopped by Demko. He covers a lot of space because of his speed.

J.T. Compher – B-

Compher got caught doing a little bit too much watching on the Canucks’ first goal, but other than that was fine. Had a nice chance in the third but couldn’t get a shot away. His subtle interference in overtime helped spring MacKinnon for the game-winner.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B

Well, I guess this guy is going to just keep scoring goals. He had a good night in the face-off circle, including the win right before his goal, and did some nice work down low behind his own net in this one.

Samuel Girard – C

I’m starting to get very concerned about some of these turnovers from Sam, as it’s uncharacteristic of him. The one up the middle in the third period could have been really bad. It seems teams are really focusing in on him since they know he’s a huge part of the Avs breakout.

Joonas Donskoi – B-

Good for Donskoi to counter his penalty by drawing one of his own. He got robbed by Demko early in this one, otherwise, his grade may have been a good bit higher. He was solid overall and had plenty of chances.

Vladislav Kamenev – C+

Why he is not on the wall on the power play is beyond me, because his vision can help that unit. He made a great play to Tynan in the third that was stopped, and showcased his skill in the second, taking a pass off his skate and immediately getting a shot away.

Matt Nieto – C-

Nieto got burned pretty bad to the outside on the first Canucks goal, and obviously, he was not alone getting beat on that one. After that, he had a very quiet game with zero shot attempts overall.

Nazem Kadri – B+

Kadri got hammered in the face-off circle, as Bo Horvat went bananas in there tonight. His goal was some incredible deception on his shot, making the goal think he might be shooting somewhere else. He did take a penalty but manages to counter everything by drawing penalties himself.

Andre Burakovsky – A

The goal was a great move by a guy just knowing how to get away from the defender to get into position for the shot, but I loved Burakovsky’s forecheck tonight. He hounded the Canucks defender prior to the Kadri goal, which forced them to give it up to the Avs. That’s the little stuff you want to see from him.

Antoine Bibeau – C

Kudos to Bibeau for the win and stepping into a tough spot. It sure did feel like the puck was just hitting him at times, and all four of the goals came on the blocker side of the net. Overall, though, that’s a high scoring team and you can’t expect a massive effort from your fourth goaltender. A win is a win, and he made just enough saves for the Avs to come out on top.