Avs Game 27 Grades: The game that shouldn't have been

Pavel Francouz – B

This is a soft grade for Frankie given the goals that got by him weren’t of the highest caliber, but there was an own goal mixed in there and he played well enough to have them at 3-2 going into the final 10 minutes of the game. The PK continues to give up a ton of both quality and quantity and the goaltenders are paying the biggest price for it.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – F

Nope nope nope. The kind of penalty he took tonight, a lazy and selfish penalty in the offensive zone that had zero upside, is the kind of thing that would get a player benched if the team had other options. He’s been passable in his time in Colorado but this was the kind of game the Avs needed more and got only the bad from NAK’s game.

Justin Barron – D

He was pretty bad tonight. Shooting on an odd-man rush and missing the net entirely to kickstart a two-on-one the other direction is straight unacceptable. It’s dumb, bad hockey. Defensively, he was competitive but it was obvious the speed was more of a problem tonight than two days ago. I’ll get ahead of the inevitable “but it was his second game” comment and just say yes, I know, and he still has a super bright future, he just got put in a tough spot and didn’t handle it very well. Adversity is healthy for growth, though, so let’s see what he does with this experience.

Samuel Girard – D+

Girard just isn’t a #1 and tonight he had to be used like it. He got crushed in shot metrics and struggled running the power play. He got an assist just seconds after a PP expired, thus the + in his grade. He played 31:46 and that’s with him taking a penalty.

Jordan Gross – F

This was as nightmare of a call-up as we’ve seen in a while. Eight minutes of TOI and 4 PIMs? Not good. Both penalties were obvious and easy calls. This won’t be part of the “I played in the NHL” lore he tells his grandkids.

Darren Helm – C-

I’d love to see him step up in a game like this and just contribute anything, but instead my lasting image of Helm in this game is him standing next to Saros, completely at a standstill with the puck, trying to figure out what to do. Looked like me at a gym – frozen in uncertainty.

Erik Johnson – D

What do you do with grades when a bunch of players are asked to play above their means? EJ just isn’t a top-pairing guy anymore and he played 23:24. You know how this ends. Cratered shot metrics. Lots of iffy puck decisions. Shots from the point into shinpads. The works.

Jack Johnson – F

The one thing that Jack Johnson should be giving the Avalanche on a consistent basis is decent penalty killing. He’s been a decent PK guy in his career (not great, but decent) and instead he’s getting absolutely dumpstered. Once again his inability to get into a shooting lane leaves him twirling on one knee in style as the opposing team celebrates another PPG. Big picture, this is problematic.

Tyson Jost – C

Like Helm, this is the game to really see something from a depth guy. His shot metrics are on the positive side, which is nice, but even with the short bench he played just 8:28 at 5v5. The coaching staff isn’t trusting him to push harder. No doubt he still is, but I think we’ve safely arrived at “he is who he is” territory. Nice analytics game, if nothing else.

Nazem Kadri – B+

So…I really liked Kadri’s game from a process standpoint. From a results angle, him scoring on a clean breakaway when the game was still 0-0 could have completely flipped the script. This was not an Avs team that was going to chase down a game but it MIGHT have had a chance to protect one. A finish there would’ve been great. I loved the rest of his night, though.

Kurtis MacDermid – B

He helped kill off a 5v3 mostly just by standing there and watching the Preds screw the whole thing up but letting a team beat itself is an underrated part of life, I think. He played 14 minutes between forward and defense and had great underlying numbers. He also had two shots, five hits, and a blocked shot. Like, that’s exactly what you want from him! No mistakes, physicality, and get in the way of stuff. Yahtzee!

Nathan MacKinnon – C

Nate, Nate, Nate. He’s so special. Expectations are so high for him. I feel bad that he’s only played in one game this year where he didn’t register a point and has 24 points in 17 games and people like me keep saying it’s not enough. Bigger picture? We’re all crazy. On a micro level, on a night like this where the stars were going to determine the outcome (and did)? It’s fair to ask MacKinnon for a whole lot more.

Mikhail Maltsev – C+

He was better. I really didn’t notice him a whole lot but he played 12 solid minutes and avoided the big mistake that had been his problem in other games. For him, this should be something to build from. See? Positivity!

Alex Newhook – C

A quiet night for Newhook. He had one really good scoring chance and sent it wide. That would have been a nice get for him. 15:35 of ice time and he recorded just one hit. Otherwise, zeroes across the box score. Broke even in shot metrics. Definitely wanted to see more, but I’m selfish like that.

Valeri Nichushkin – B-

Bad shot metrics and a freebie of a goal where he just tapped in a beautiful backdoor feed from Rantanen. Missed multiple scoring chances from actual distance, continuing the neverending game of “can he actually score or…?” One thing I loved from him that was obvious tonight: effort. Sometimes I’m easy to please.

Logan O’Connor – C+

I’d love to see some finish but he was another guy that I felt like had his engine revved up tonight. He boofed two scoring chances in the first 10 minutes of the game that could’ve been legit scoring chances. You always wonder if that’s where he’s running out of talent or just missed that one. It’s a testament to his great season so far that question even exists.

Mikko Rantanen – B-

Nobody on earth lives as cleanly as Mikko Rantanen does. He does lazy or soft stuff every single night, finds his way to two points, and generally ends up with great shot metrics along the way. Without the shot metrics part, that all applied to Mikko again tonight. Him pulling up and defending himself and then failing to use his size to body smaller defenders is starting to get seriously old, however.