Avs Game 32 Grades: Finding a way

Pavel Francouz – B

Another solid outing for Francouz, but the second goal was just downright bad. Against a team that is desperate for offense, giving them a freebie helped create a big hill to climb. Once the team in front of him climbed it, however, Francouz slammed the door shut with some great saves late.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – A+

The first multi-goal game of NAK’s career and the Avs needed it on a night where they got nothing from their top line. The penalty he took was a BS call so I’m not holding that phantom nonsense against him. Two great games in a row for him and the Avs have needed his presence in both as he threw five hits in a game that got increasingly physical at it wore on.

Andre Burakovsky – C

I hated Burakovsky’s game and tweeted as much at one point. Just a mess of poor decisions and his old bugaboo of lazy and soft hockey. Naturally, he finished with two assists on nice plays through the neutral zone that helped create offense. Go figure.

Bowen Byram – D+

I’m accustomed to the occasional execution hiccup from Byram but he’s such a smart player that I’m surprised when he makes what I think are low IQ plays. His decision at the end of the second period with the Avs surging in confidence and the Kraken hanging on to their 3-2 lead where he killed the offensive buzz was just maddening. He got beaten up in shot metrics and had one of his poorer showings overall. Lots of trust from the coaching staff, however, and it’s very encouraging to see them letting Byram play through some things.

J.T. Compher – B

I didn’t really have a strong opinion of JTC’s game so I’ll lean on his analytics here and they show a player with very good on-ice results. Better than the opposite, I suppose.

Samuel Girard – C+

I thought he moved the puck really well in the offensive zone but I didn’t like his defense much. He felt particularly ineffective in that zone. He’s had a strange year. He’s a lot harder for me to get a read on from a night-to-night basis.

Darren Helm – INC

He played just 3:35 and appeared to get hurt in the first period. There was no word on him postgame and I honestly don’t remember if he left the bench or it was purely a coach’s decision to sit him for two full periods. It seems unlikely, but the uncertainty and the limited TOI mean I’m not grading Helm tonight.

Erik Johnson – C+

The work on the PK isn’t good enough. It just isn’t. That said, EJ’s shifts aren’t exclusively on the PK and his sliding blocked shot late in the third period when Francouz was still trying to get across his crease likely preserved Colorado’s one-goal lead. Huge play from Johnson.

Jack Johnson – B

He was one of the more effective players on the Avs’ PK tonight, picked up an assist, had positive shot metrics, and genuinely made a handful of smart plays with the puck. This was a good night for The Other Johnson.

Tyson Jost – C

Jost brought some energy in a game where the Avs were occasionally lacking and did well with a constantly rotating cast of linemates as both Helm and MacDermid played less than three minutes.

Nazem Kadri – A+

Like Burakovsky, I thought Kadri played like garbage for 50 minutes. Then he assisted on the game-tying goal and sniped the game-winning goal on a perfect shot. That doesn’t erase everything before that, but…it kind of does, doesn’t it? Massive game-changing presence down the stretch when Colorado’s other top forwards weren’t getting it done.

Kurtis MacDermid – INC

Another game, another night of him playing less than four minutes. Okay.

Nathan MacKinnon – B

In some ways, I think tonight was a testament to how awesome MacKinnon really is. It was just the second time this season that MacKinnon failed to record a point in a game he played in but he had dominant shot metrics and seven shots on goal all by himself. He didn’t score but the effort was absolutely there.

Cale Makar – B

Another guy who I didn’t think was particularly good tonight and then played a role in a game-changing moment. His shot rang off the post and was deflected in by Toews to tie the game. His shot metrics ruled once again and he continues to get a small role on the PK as the team looks for anybody on that unit to step up.

Alex Newhook – B

His play on the game’s opening goal was just so smart. His puck protecting through the neutral zone was excellent as he found a way to fend off the defense and then found LOC in stride. Just great hockey. He was a big part of Colorado’s comeback push as he kept finding himself involved in the action. A very encouraging night for Newhook.

Val Nichushkin – C+

Individually I thought Nuke was really bad early on and then by the end of the game had rediscovered his groove. The coaching staff must have agreed at least a little because Nuke replaced Burakovsky on the top line in the second half of the game and only a great pad save kept Nichushkin from the scoresheet in the third period. A solid effort in his return.

Logan O’Connor – C

I really didn’t love most of LOC’s night but he made a great play on the first goal as his feed to NAK was sublime. After that, he seemed to really disappear as an impact player. He got beaten up pretty badly in shot metrics. Ugly night for the LOCness Monster.

Mikko Rantanen – D

Everything I said about MacKinnon is the opposite for Rantanen. The only redeeming part of Rantanen’s game was his awesome backcheck on a power play as he broke up a very good short-handed scoring chance for the Kraken. The rest of his night was watching MacKinnon do awesome stuff on offense and playing a soft, disengaged game.

Devon Toews – B+

Like Makar, I didn’t love Toews tonight until the game-changing moments went down. Toews was slopping with the puck, missing outlet passes and botching several passes that hit his stick and turned into opportunities for forecheckers. Just a sloppy game. Then he had a very well-timed deflection (read: not kick) to tie the game. Right place, right time.