Avs Game 24 Grades: Unrecognizable

Cal Burke – C

He had some moments in a night where a lot of Avs didn’t offensively. A nice look to Mikko in the second period that Rantanen wasn’t able to get a shot off on. Not a bad first NHL game.

Andrew Cogliano – C-

As I say in every grades, the Avs are asking a lot from him at this point, but he was one of two forwards to not register a shot attempt. Had a few decent deflections on the PK.

J.T. Compher – C

Another night with no shots on goal, and he had chances to let it rip. In the second, he got hit back door with a pass where he could have one-timed it, but instead held onto the puck, and the play just kind of fizzled out a bit. Unlike a lot of the team, did not get caved in defensively.

Andreas Englund – B–

Really did not have any issues with him on a night when other defenders were making most mistakes. He’s going to struggle moving the puck at this level, so he tries to make the most simple plays he can, but he didn’t stand out in a bad way against Boston.

Jean-Luc Foudy – C

His speed is noticeable on a team that has lost some speed to injury. Had a good rush in the third to drop it to Meyers before it got blocked. When he gets the puck, he pops.

Alexandar Georgiev – C-

A great start, especially the one-time save on Krejci, but then fell apart a good bit without a ton of help in front of him. The first goal happened because he froze a dump in from the far blue line, and the Avs couldn’t change lines. The line that was out there didn’t even have an NHL center on it, so they lost the face-off and chaos ensued.

Sam Girard – F

It’s starting to get frustrating at this point. The first goal wasn’t on him, but on the second he puts Meyers in a tough spot (although the puck should get out), and the defending of the two-on-one was less than ideal. Then he let Hall behind him on the final goal. Beyond that, some poor work on the powerplay, trying to force passes that weren’t there.

Charles Hudon – C-

The defensive issues popped up a lot more in this game. At one point in the first period, he got completely lost in the defensive zone and his guy got a good chance. At another, he got walked by the Bruins defender for a good look. Still had more shot attempts than the other forwards though.

Dryden Hunt – B

Nice hit on Pastrnak that he shouldn’t have had to fight for, but he did and eliminated Nosek with ease. Should have sparked the Avs a bit but just didn’t happen.

Erik Johnson – D+

Some good shot blocks on the penalty kill but drifted up a bit too high on the second Bruins goal. Granted, it should have been a clear, but I think it’s a sign of the Avs maybe playing a bit too much at that moment like they do when they have a full roster, and they have to adjust a little now.

Martin Kaut – D

Quiet, unremarkable play. Got outmuscled a few times by players about the same size.

Jacob MacDonald – F

The shine is wearing off a bit. Lost the goal scorer on the third Bruins goal, and didn’t know who to cover on the first one.

Cale Makar – D

Pastrnak had his way with Makar, holding him off with his strength, at one point in the third, and it got Makar frustrated. The team around him hasn’t been the same, but I think it’s fair to say Makar hasn’t been at his best this year consistently.

Ben Meyers – C-

Great rush up the ice in the first that showcased his speed, and a great night in the face-off circle, but it wasn’t great beyond that. The turnover on the second goal was a real killer. Bednar was throwing him out there a ton, and this is his chance to cement himself.

Alex Newhook – D

I thought about giving him an F, because being one of the few guys up front with some higher-level NHL skill, seeing him go yet another game without a single shot attempt is just frustrating. He did have a penalty kill shift in the first period that was great, and he has done pretty well on the PK when put there.

Logan O’Connor – C–

His best chance came in the second period when he got hit with a pass for a break in down low, but the pass was in his skates so I don’t think he was able to corral it completely.

Mikko Rantanen – D

Marchand mixed it up with him a bit, and that’s what he’s going to do especially with no MacKinnon around. When head-to-head against the Bruins’s best players, he got eaten up and spent most of the time in his own end.

Devon Toews – D

Played 27 minutes overall, but it was a pretty blah 27 minutes, and the top powerplay unit doesn’t look too hot at the moment. Avs spent most of the game in their end with him out there, and he had some turnover issues.