Avs Game 23 Grades: Sloppy ten minutes costs Avs

Pierre Edouard Bellemare – B

Bellemare had a good night in the face-off circle and was one of the few forwards who was well above positive in terms of possession. He was battling in front on Nichushkin’s goal.

Andre Burakovsky – C+

I thought Burakovsky was far too soft on the opening Leafs goal of the game. He had the puck come to him twice and failed to clear it out, one time not even showing any awareness of what was going on around him. He did pick up a nice goal on the backdoor of the power play, his first power-play goal of the year. Made some nice moves in the second period to create a chance of his own as well. I still think there are times when he’s holding onto the puck a half-second too long before shooting.

Ian Cole – D+

I didn’t mind Cole in the offensive zone tonight. I thought he made some nice plays and was one of the few defenders who could get his shot through to the net. It was the defensive side I did not like. Watching the game-winning breakaway goal for the Leafs again, Cole was cheating really far to the left side, which gave them so much room to hit the breakaway pass. Not sure if he was anticipating the puck over there but it left it wide open.

J.T. Compher – F

I liked Compher last game a lot, but I thought he really struggled in this one, outside of the faceoff circle. He was out there for all of the goals against in this one and gave Matthews way too much room on the second goal of the night. He also pinched terribly while covering for Graves on the game-winning goal, and got burned as he missed the puck completely. Just a tough night defensively for a guy who the Avs actually use a lot in that role.

Joonas Donskoi – C-

Donskoi made a great pass to Burakovsky for his goal but had a rougher night overall. At one point in the second period, the puck bounced to the front while Donskoi was there, and he just skated off the ice with his stick in the air, not paying attention. It was the end of his shift, but if he’s even paying a little attention, he may have a wide open shot in front.

Samuel Girard – D

I’m still seeing far too many turnovers from Sam, and up the middle too, which is what makes them so noticeable. He still makes plenty of good plays on the breakout, but the turnovers seem to have gone up. The big issue with Girard was that every shot attempt he was taking was getting blocked. He had five shot attempts get blocked in this one on eight attempts. Only one of his attempts actually got through to the net.

Ryan Graves – D-

Graves got pummeled pretty badly in terms of possession, as the Avs only controlled 31% of the shot attempts with him out there. He was out there for two even-strength goals, including one where he got caught pinched in for the breakaway game-winner. I think there was a lot that went wrong on that one, and not all on Graves, but when he’s chasing, he has issues. I don’t like how far along the boards he got caught on the power play goal by Barrie.

Philipp Grubauer – F

This isn’t all on Grubauer, but certainly his worst performance to date this year, and he only made it through a period. The Matthews goal, as good as his release is, caught Grubauer cheating to the near side and Matthews went far side. It didn’t look pretty on the replay. Francouz played well in place of him, but I bet Grubauer plays on Wednesday. He’s your number one, go back to him.

Erik Johnson – B

EJ had far and away the best possession numbers on the team for the defenders at over 70%. I only had some small issues with him, like the Barrie goal he got caught flopping. Not a big fan of him when he rushes it up the right wall because it usually doesn’t lead to much, but he played fine tonight. The big question will be how injured he is. He left and came back multiple times, and didn’t look fully comfortable on the bench for the rest of the game after the hit from behind by Kerfoot.

Nazem Kadri – B

Other than the Kadri/MacKinnon pair not having much chemistry together at even strength, I thought Kadri played well. He picked up two assists, and he nearly had a highlight-reel goal in the second period but hit the post. Another successful game in the face-off circle, but another penalty to go with it. The penalties definitely need to slow down.

Vladislav Kamenev – D

Other than his rush on the power play at the end of the first period that nearly created a goal, I thought it was a rough night for Kamenev overall. He got caught on the ice too long on the first goal by Toronto, and didn’t win a single face-off he took.

Tyson Jost – C-

Jost was a surprise addition to the lineup, as Bednar announced he was doubtful at practice on Friday. He had a good chance in the first but was quiet otherwise, and was flexing his upper body a lot during breaks.

Nathan MacKinnon – B-

MacK got the Avs started early and was flying in the first ten minutes, but seemed a little tentative later in the game. A lot of his shot attempts were getting blocked in this one, five in total. He nearly tied the game up late but had that shot attempt blocked as well. He did have a good night in the face-off circle as well.

Cale Makar – D+

This may be a little controversial, but I thought Makar had an off night, and you could see it early as he was fumbling the puck a bit. He fumbled the puck off a clean face-off win and gave it right to the Leafs early and it led to extended zone time for the Leafs. He ended up with poor possession numbers overall at 36%, and was negative with every defensive partner. I did like him on the power play tonight though.

Valeri Nichushkin – B-

HE FINALLY GOT ONE! Good for him, as he’s been working hard and was rewarded with the goal in the third period. I don’t like seeing such a big man get his stick lifted so easily on the Matthews goal. He’s normally good defensively but had some tough moments in this one.

Matt Nieto – D

Nieto started the game on the Avs second line, and that’s just a sign of everything that’s going on with this team right now, injury-wise. Another quiet night for him offensively, and was on the ice for a few goals against.

Logan O’Connor – B-

O’Connor seemed to get promoted late, and had his assist taken away on the Nichushkin goal, but he was battling hard in front. He had some good chances in this one too, and ended up with over 10 minutes, so I think the staff was pretty happy with him.

T.J. Tynan – D

Started the game on the third line and then got demoted and played less and less as the game went on. He’s a very quick guy and works hard but you can see why there hasn’t been an extended NHL stay for him in his career, despite his AHL numbers.

Nikita Zadorov – D+

Z’s issues in front of the net reared their head again on the first goal, but other than that he did decent in his own end. The front of the net stuff though is just confusing with how big he is. When he’s on the ice, it’s clear the other teams don’t want to attempt many controlled zone entries, and you could see that even tonight with a skilled team. Had a nice hit late in the third to get possession back with the Avs. Did finish on the positive end of possession numbers, and played well on the shift leading to Nichushkin’s goal.