Avs Game 29 Grades: Makar Lifts Avs to Comeback Win

Jack Johnson – (INC) 

Jack Johnson left half way through the game with a lower-body injury, and did not return. He didn’t have much of an impact when he was in the game. Incomplete for ol’ JJ tonight.

Bowen Byram – C-

We talked about him in the DNVR Avalanche Pregame Show in terms of what the expectations were for him coming back from injury. We said that we expected him to be near the level that he was at before his injuries started cropping back up, and tonight he didn’t quite meet that expectation. He was fine, no glaring errors, but just not quite there yet.

Erik Johnson – B-

He had a handful of moments in his own end that left you face-palming, but! EJ tallied two goals tonight, including the game-tying goal late in the third. His first one was great because he was able to get one through from the point, which is something he has struggled mightily with during his career, so big ups for him tonight. 

Devon Toews – B-

He’s so good. He’s so good. Devon Toews is transforming into one of, if not THE, best all-around defenseman in the NHL. He just gets it done in all three zones, in all situations. Toews plays on the PP, PK, he starts in the defensive zone, he starts in the offensive zone, his impact on this team is almost unbelievable even if he’s not on the scoresheet.

Cale Makar – A+

DaNaNa DaNaNa. Go watch Overtime. What a goal from Cale Makar to end the game. That goal will be on every highlight reel for the rest of the week. A truly dynamic play, from a truly dynamic player.

Nicolas Aubé-Kubel – C+ 

Didn’t notice him a ton tonight, I can think of a couple plays he made at the offensive blue line to keep plays and rushes alive, including making a really nice play to set up the Newhook goal, and he stayed out of the box in a game where the Avs really couldn’t afford to be shorthanded, so good on him.

Tyson Jost – D-

Really struggled tonight, really struggled. Tyson Jost seemed like he was fighting the puck, could win any battles, and ended up being stapled to the bench for the back half of the third. I know Jost will bounce back, because his effort is never an issue, just a big time off night for him.

Alex Newhook – B+

Oooooh boy. This kid is finding his groove in the NHL. You hear people talk about “the game slowing down” for players, and you can tell that’s exactly what’s happening for Alex Newhook. The play he made on his goal tonight was a very high IQ play and finished it with some unreal skill on the backhand.

Logan O’Connor – C+

He was fine tonight, his effort is always there, which means he’s always impactful, but not in the same way he was last game (lolz). His tooth got chipped tonight, so I give him a bump to a + because that’s brutal.

Nathan MacKinnon – B-

Nathan MacKinnon is finding ways to be impactful this year like he never has before. The goals aren’t there, but he hit two posts and set up the Makar OT winner. MacKinnon had a back check that possibly saved the game in the third period, he’s becoming such a complete player.

JT Compher – C-

For the second game in a row, that second line was such a black hole. It’s not that they were “bad”, but they were just non-factors for most of the night. Compher has become the Avs’ Swiss Army knife, he can play in a lot of situations and in different parts of the lineup and not actively hurt you, but it would be nice to see him be a bit more impactful.

Darren Helm – C

I’m giving him C, because he had one of those nights where he was just completely average and not really noticeable, but he’s had WAYYYY too many of those games this season, and he really needs to start being the fourth line shut down guy the Avs brought him here to be more often.

Sam Girard – C+

No issues with his game tonight, thought he had some nice plays in the offensive zone, but he needs to be stronger on Toews’ stick on that first goal.

Kurtis MacDermid – C

He hit almost 5:00 tonight, so that’s a big step up from the games against Anaheim, however, tonight was the first night in a while that I thought he really struggled. It’s not a huge deal, but it does suck that he seemed to take a step back tonight.

Name Kadri – C+

Like what I said about Compher, just too much nothing from Kadri’s line tonight. He got a helper on the first goal of the game, as he just continues to roll along and pile up the points.

Gabriel Landeskog – C+

I didn’t understand why he fought Connor Murphy in the first period, but then I remembered the hit he had on Kirby Dach earlier this year. Like, sure.. but I didn’t care much for the timing of it, and didn’t like the trade-off in terms of personnel.

Andre Burakovsky – C

See: JT Compher and Nazem Kadri. Just an off night for that whole group.

Mikko Rantanen – C+

He made some questionable decisions with the puck a few times tonight, but I honestly thought he played bigger than he normally does, and he did some really good things to keep offensive plays alive. He definitely had some chances to finish that he missed out on, but you know that won’t be an issue going forward for Mikko.

Darcy Kuemper – A

Thought he was really solid tonight. Maybe you’d like a different outcome on the second Chicago goal, but at the end of the day, it’s a great cross-ice pass that you can’t fault Kuemper for too much. He’s seems like he’s really starting to heat up.