Avs Game 31 Grades: Another point lost

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B-

Once again, that line did a good job of keeping things low event and for the most part, spending more time in the Arizona end. Took a big hit just prior to the Coyotes third goal to clear the puck, then on re-entry their appeared to be some miscommunication on coverage before Crouse came in late for the goal. PK was really strong and he was a big part of it.

Andre Burakovsky – D

I said yesterday it feels like every shot can potentially go in with him right now. He had a clear shot to put the Avs ahead late in the third period and shot it right into Hill’s chest. That happened to be his only shot attempt. That line was pretty disappointing in this series.

Matt Calvert – B-

Much like Bellemare, he was a big part of the strong PK, with good clears and not really giving up much of anything, especially on the four-minute penalty kill in the second. The lack of any finish is a little frustrating right now.

Joonas Donskoi – A-

The third line is just rolling right now, and Donskoi is doing his part with strong zone entries and he’s fitting in nicely on the cycle. Beautiful goal in the shootout that sadly went to waste. At the start of the year, he was picking up points when maybe he didn’t deserve them, but like his game the last week.

Samuel Girard – C+

I actually feel like if the Avs could string together a few games with a healthy defense, giving Girard a night off wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. He still looks pretty good by other defender’s standards, but by his standards, I get the sense that he’s fatigued. Still, a tired Girard is picking up points left and right.

Ryan Graves – B-

Great work on the penalty kill all night long, and outside of one flubbed clear in the first, was pretty strong in that department. Hate that he let Kessel get behind him on the game-tying goal, but one of his left-point shots actually led to a goal tonight, so I’ll give him that. Traffic helps.

Jonas Johansson – D+

Boy, this is a tough one. He actually had to make some pretty big saves and seemed to settle in after the rough start, but then fell apart in the third, and the fourth goal was…ugly. That being said, I did see a little more from him tonight than the other guys, so maybe there’s hope yet. Just avoid the shootout, I guess.

Tyson Jost – A-

Outside of the flukey penalty he took in the first period, another really good game from Jost, and he looks confident. None of his shots actually got through, but he kept trying. I think it’s telling that his line was on the ice at the end of regulation to get it to OT.

Nazem Kadri – C-

He continues to get his chances, but the high-end ones just aren’t going in for him, whereas the flukey ones are. Hockey is weird like that. Did not like him on the powerplay.

Gabriel Landeskog – B

The top line is really tough for me to grade because I thought all of them were really sloppy in the defensive zone and a big reason why the Avs were down two goals early. After that, they took the game over when they wanted to, and Landeskog’s goal got things started. Just love seeing him score from in front of the net like that.

Jacob MacDonald – D

This was one of those games where I felt like he gambled a lot and got lucky with some of his decisions, whereas in other games he’s read plays well enough to where they weren’t as risky. On one shift alone, he turned it over three times in a span of 10 seconds behind his net, but the puck ended up bouncing over the defender’s stick and out, so nothing bad happened.

Nathan MacKinnon – B+

When he wanted to go off, he did, but he looked sloppy in his own end. On the second goal, he went out of his way to try and throw a big hit on a guy already covered, which led to a breakdown and a goal. This was after he got roughed up at the other end. Ended up breaking even at 5 on 5 in goals for and against.

Cale Makar – F

He could have been the hero in overtime, but his shot wasn’t all that accurate and Hill was able to get his belly on it in time. Beyond that, it was a really rough night for Makar, who stands out in a really bad way in shot share, far and away the worst with the Avs only controlling 27% of the shots with him out there.

Valeri Nichushkin – A

Just a menace right now. The rush up the ice, and ability to just protect the puck and kill time just prior to his game made the entire play. He’s kind of driving a lot of what that third line is doing. Another big game.

Logan O’Connor – C

I thought O’Connor would come in with a lot of energy after a few games off to prove he belongs, and I just didn’t see it, outside of some good PK moments. At one point he looked a little banged up in the first period, and didn’t have that speed we’ve come accustomed to seeing.

Mikko Rantanen – B

Another goal on another perfect shot, and could have had the winner in overtime with an end-to-end rush that ended in him hitting the post. You could tell how frustrated he was in this game, though, and it came to a head with him breaking his stick after the overtime powerplay failed.

Dan Renouf – D

A surprise addition to the lineup and he stood out in not a great way. Took a penalty trying to defend a much quicker player in the second, and he did stand out for his lack of speed.

Brandon Saad – F

He looked banged up in the second period after a hit took him out, but did come back. Honestly, he didn’t do a whole lot from there and was the only player to end the game with no shot attempts.

Devon Toews – D

Toews had plenty of chances to score, including a backdoor chance in the first off a feed from Jost, but wasn’t able to bury any of them. He did struggle a bit defensively, which we aren’t accustomed to seeing. Got beat on the second goal by letting the pass get across.