Avs Game 23 Grades: Road winners

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – B

He brought a physical presence, didn’t take a penalty, was fine in shot metrics and tallied an assist. Exactly what more could you be asking for from NAK?

Darcy Kuemper – B-

The first goal is off the skate of his own player, the second off his own face, and the third beat him cleanly but never would have happened without his teammates getting way too cute on the other end to start the break. In between all of that, Kuemper made some huge saves, fought off another equipment malfunction, and seemed to really settle in as the game progressed. This one will look worse statistically than it really was.

Andre Burakovsky – D

Demoted to the third line presumably for all the things I’ve been dinging him for in the game grades recently, Burakovsky responded by changing absolutely nothing in his game and basically repeating all the frustrating bad habits but without any of the production.

Samuel Girard – B

Liked Girard’s game a lot except for that silly goaltender interference where he made zero attempt to get out of the way. He snagged two assists but consistently drove play out of his own end and took care of defense first. Another good night.

Darren Helm – C-

I don’t really understand his purpose in the lineup right now. He’s not really doing much of the good we’re seeing from the PK and he’s having basically no impact on any of the lines he’s on. If he’s with better players, his shot metrics are better, if he’s with weaker players, they’re bad. He’s a pure passenger.

Erik Johnson – B+

EJ was a defensive rock tonight. He took care of his own end and kept it clean down there. The assist he snagged on the seventh goal was pretty amusing but we’ll give him kudos all the same. This is the good version the Avs frequently win with.

Jack Johnson – C+

He’s had a horrible week overall but this was a huge step forward for him. The big reason the grade isn’t better is because absolutely nothing that happens on offense happens because he initiated it. Like Helm, a total passenger on that side of the ice and he throws a possession or two away every game by not having the vision or skill to help on offense. Great defensive game for him, though.

Tyson Jost – C

I’m giving Jost my starting grade because I just didn’t see much of him. Drew a penalty in the third period and generally worked hard. Him going back to center on the fourth line has not kickstarted his game in any way.

Nazem Kadri – A

Three more points and dominant shot metrics. The only pockmark is him not finishing the game. He’s been nursing a lower-body injury, however, and in a blowout the Avs just may have decided to let him take the rest of the night off. Hoping for the best.

Gabriel Landeskog – C+

I loved the leadership of him fighting Trouba immediately. You have to protect your stars and Landeskog has not hesitated to do any of that. As the leader of the team, he gets an A+. For the hockey, it’s less than that because I don’t think he played well at all. I’ve been such a fan of his this year but tonight was one of his worst of the year.

Kurtis MacDermid – C+

At forward, MacDermid’s biggest liability (his defensive play) is totally mitigated and tonight we saw his biggest strength on display when he peeled Trouba off Sam Girard and Trouba had absolutely no interest in dropping the gloves. He picked up an assist somewhere along the way, which is hilarious. Good for the big fella to have a decent night.

Nathan MacKinnon – B-

I’m bumping his grade up a bit because he absolutely needed the goal he scored. It was a flukey type goal, which may not be the dam-breaker we’ve been waiting for and his reticence to shoot when open later in the game suggested his confidence hasn’t taken that big jump back up yet. An okay night for him overall but the goal was great and turned the game around.

Cale Makar – B+

It wasn’t a superstar kind of night but a much more workmanlike effort from Makar. In the head-to-head against Adam Fox, Makar had the only point while also blocking three shots and getting time on both the PP and PK. Very good night.

Jacob MacDonald – C+

His shot metrics are solid and he’s a chaos monster at all times. Sometimes that’s fun, other times it’s frustrating. He was both tonight for me. He just fits their style better than the bruisers with no puck skill.

Alex Newhook – A-

Loved Newhook’s game. He scored again on a bit of a softie but I don’t care. The rest of his game was high-effort stuff and he’s really committed himself to being an impact player defensively. He’s busting his butt right now in all three zones and he’s seeing the results in the box score but it’s the defensive commitment that will see his ice time elevated.

Valeri Nichushkin – C+

Another point, another solid night of shot metrics. Nuke is in the rinse repeat cycle of sustained excellence but I’m struggling with some of the smaller details of his game. He’s starting to get a little cute with the puck when he normally is one of the guys you can rely on to make the smart, safe play. It turned into a couple of dead possessions tonight.

Logan O’Connor – A+

Is the LOC-ness monster? Is he a crash test dummy? What is Logan O’Connor? I don’t know what we’re going to end up calling him, but right now he’s playing some of the best damn hockey we’ve seen from him as he continues to elevate his game at every turn. His two goals in 22 seconds ended the game and, frankly, kicked ass.

Mikko Rantanen – C

I know he scored two goals tonight, but I was driven mad all night by some of his lazy and soft play with the puck. It’s probably unfair to drag his grade down this far because of the two goals. You can convince me I’m being dumb here. I just hated his process. He was fortunate to take advantage of a bad goaltender on the other side but the way he played the game was frustrating all night.

Devon Toews – B-

One of the very rare nights where Toews got beaten up in shot metrics and he still produced two assists. He’s actually the most prolific scoring defenseman this year on a per-game basis. His assist on the first goal of the game where he intercepts a puck in the neutral zone and it turns into a shot on goal the other way five seconds later is why Toews is so lethal. He flips the ice so quickly and often so dangerously. Even his tough nights are great nights. Whatever, Devon. Just be fantastic.