Avs Game 31 Grades: Finnish them

J.T. Compher – B-

Continues to be a workhorse in the face-off circle, taking another 24. Didn’t have the best offensive game, as he didn’t generate much of anything in terms of shot generation.

Andreas Englund – B+

Followed up a really rough outing with a great one. He was physical, got into a few tussles after the whistle, and the Avs gave up almost nothing of danger with him on the ice.

Alexandar Georgiev – A–

Having the first real shot you see be a breakaway is not ideal, but he locked down everything from there. He really didn’t have much to do in the final two periods but was strong in the first while the Avs were a little sloppy in their end.

Sam Girard – C

The first period was ugly for him and EJ, as they were out there for a lot of the scoring chances against and a lot of them seemed to be miscommunication, which is not what you would expect from them. Settled in after that.

Brad Hunt – B+

Had a lot of good chances, including Rantanen setting him up in a prime scoring spot in the third, but instead of skating in to space for a better look, wound up and shot it into the goalie’s chest. Like Englund, nothing of danger happened with him on the ice against the Avs.

Erik Johnson – C–

The first period was a total adventure. A turnover by the forwards got him stuck a little too far into the zone, allowing Richard to break away, but the rest of the period wasn’t much better. Liked his swimming on the ice in the third period on the PK where he basically swatted the puck out with his glove while on his belly.

Martin Kaut – C

Not as noticeable as last game, and just kind of existed. The top three lines were rolling, so didn’t see much ice time in the final period.

Artturi Lehkonen – B+

Nice to see him get rewarded, because he’s had a lot of high danger chances the last few games. The shot was not an easy one either, catching the body across your body and getting a quick shot off is pretty difficult to do that quickly.

Kurtis MacDermid – INC

He did manage to throw a few hits on the forecheck in the second period, but not sure he played much after that.

Jacob MacDonald – INC

He doubled his ice time from the prior game, but that wasn’t exactly hard to do. Still under three minutes.

Cale Makar – B-

Not as dominant a performance as he had the prior game, but still strong. Still can’t seem to find that spot when he’s jumping in. Had a really good look in the second period but in trying to pick the corner, almost sent it out of the zone when he missed.

Denis Malgin – B

For a first game, a really strong showing. Had a really nice look in front of the net in the first period, but plenty of other good chances. A strong possession player but the lack of finish was already evident. Definitely fits the style that the Avs want to play, so will just have to see if he can hold any sort of consistency.

Ben Meyers – B

He and O’Connor just kind of collided in the offensive zone, that led to the turnover on the only Habs goal. Did think it was interesting that Bednar was cycling in wingers on that line but Myers was always the one out there. He’s gained a lot of trust in a short amount of time, and his speed was on display again against Montreal.

Alex Newhook – C+

It seemed like they gave him a little bit more time at center than the last few games, as he was taking a lot more face-offs and doing quite well. He had an attempt in the third period where he tried to cut through the defense down the slot. It didn’t work, but I like seeing the aggressiveness.

Valeri Nichushkin – C

Had an ugly turnover in the first period bringing the puck back into his own end that gave the Habs a real good chance. Has not scored a goal since coming back, but had a good chance in the second period that he just missed going in short side.

Logan O’Connor – B-

Got robbed with a pad stack in the second period, another sign that he’ll never score again. His only shot attempt of the net, but it was as good a look as any. After colliding with Meyers before the Montreal goal, settled in for a solid game.

Mikko Rantanen – A-

It’s kind of absurd that he has 25% of the team’s goals, but he continues to carry this team offensively. You would like to see more finish at even strength, but he can’t score them all himself. Got burned a little to the outside prior to the game winner, but no one will remember that because he actually won it himself. Hit a crossbar earlier in the night.

Evan Rodrigues – B+

Continues to generate shots at an extremely high rate, and drew a penalty with his shiftiness early in the game. Had a real nice move to the outside on his off wing but got stopped by Allen. You can kind of see why he’s not scored a ton of goals in the past. Great shot generation, but not a ton of finish.

Devon Toews – B-

Just continues to be solid. It was funny seeing Caufield come in on him in the third period. He had no clue how to get around him and just kind of…jumped. Nothing came of it because Toews just perfectly played the body.