Avs Game 31 Grades: Back on the winning train

Mark Barberio – C

Barbs was an adventure sometimes in his own end tonight, and seemed to sit out a few shifts towards the end of the second period, as I saw him at the end of the bench with his head down. He did finish a +2 on the night, so some luck was on his side.

Pierre Edouard Bellemare – A

Bellemare was a monster down low in this one. His ability to control the puck along the boards halfway through the first period really got the Avs a lot of momentum to finish that period out. A big shot block on the PK in the third period looked to have him in pain but he finished the game.

Andre Burakovsky – F

I really disliked Burakovsky’s game tonight, but he wasn’t alone. He seemed unsure of himself with the puck on his stick, and refused to shoot the puck, ending up with only one shot attempt on the evening. That’s two straight games where he hasn’t gotten a puck on net. He ended with the worst shot metrics on the team.

Matt Calvert – A

A manimal. There’s not much else to say at this point. He set the tone in the first period and got the Avs started with his rebound goal. This was a game in which the bottom six carried the Avs for a while and Calvert led the way.

Ian Cole – B

Cole was very low event in this one, and that’s not a bad thing. That pairing really didn’t give up a ton, but also didn’t create a lot. Without Makar and Johnson, they’re just getting by and quietly solid nights like this from Cole will do the job.

J.T. Compher – B

Compher made the play of the game I thought, when he caught a long stretch pass from Girard in his skates and got it to MacKinnon prior to the Rantanen goal. That was not an easy play to make, and it created the biggest goal of the night.

Joonas Donskoi – F

I feel confident in saying that was Donskoi’s worst game of the year by far. He fumbled the puck all night long, and seemed to fall over every time he was on the ice. Just one you throw in the trash and move on to the next.

Pavel Francouz – A

That’s how you respond, as a goaltender. Bednar called his performance last game “sub-par” and Frankie bounced back. I really thought the Avs kept a lot of shots to the outside in this one, and allowed Frankie to see the puck, and cleared up anything he let loose in the slot. A really nice game from him.

Samuel Girard – C

That pair was very high event, but were on the ice for more scoring chances for than against. I am not a fan of Girard on the top power play unit, as he just does not look natural there, and him trying to get too fancy with the puck led to an easy clear by the Flyers in this one. He needs Makar back to ease some of the pressure on him with the way this defense is built.

Ryan Graves – B+

Like Cole, a quiet game where not a lot happened when Graves was on the ice. He’s +1,000,000 at this point, and was on the ice for another goal tonight. Had a nice hit in the open ice in the third period.

Nazem Kadri – D

Kadri looked a little rusty after a week off, and had some issues with the puck most of the evening. He can get into trouble trying to do too much. Did make a nice play on Rantanen’s second goal of the game, and that one pretty much sealed it.

Tyson Jost – C+

Another game where Jost had really good process but no production to go with it. Hit the post in the first period on what looked to be a great chance for the Avs to extend their lead. For as dominant as the Avs were with him on the ice in the first period, it flipped completely the final two periods.

Gabriel Landeskog – F

Just a rough night overall for the Captain. Tried to do way too much with the puck overall, and it got him into a lot of trouble. Overhandled the puck on the second power play, and ended up taking a penalty trying to recover. The top six was not great, for the most part.

Nathan MacKinnon – C

The Flyers have a very good center to matchup against MacKinnon tonight, and Couturier did a lot of good work against MacK for the most part, keeping him quiet and not allowing him to get a ton of speed through the neutral zone. He still managed to create a nice tap in for Mikko in the second period.

Valeri Nichushkin – B+

Nichushkin picked up another point in this one, although this one was from the puck just hitting his giant body on the way to the net. You take it either way, but he’s in a groove right now and you love to see it. Lots of good board work tonight.

Matt Nieto – A

Nieto did everything but score in this one, and he had plenty of chances. Led the Avs with five shots on goal and seven attempts overall. You won’t see that every night.

Mikko Rantanen – B+

Mikko, like a stealth assassin, scored two goals where the puck was on his stick for a total of half a second. The rest of the night, he was relatively quiet, but elite players don’t need much to score. Hart did rob him of a goal in the second period with an absurd glove save.

Calle Rosen – B

Rosen had an assist taken away from him in the first, but good for him to get his shot through a lot of bodies to help create that goal. He got it back in the third period with a smart play to not force a shot on net but shoot it down low instead. Also showcased some speed in the first period on a nice rush.

Nikita Zadorov – C

Z got caught watching a bit on the Giroux goal, but was quietly steady most of the net. The Avs gave up a ton of shots with him on the ice, but the majority of them were from the outside. Did well to join the rush in the first period, including a nice move that resulted in a good chance.