Avs Game 39 Grades: Take the Loser Point

Pierre Edouard Bellemare – C

Bellemare had a bit of a disconnected controller moment on the first goal of the game, but evened it out the final bit of the game. He did seem to lose every single face-off in overtime on the penalty kill but it didn’t end up hurting the team overall.

Andre Burakovsky – B-

Burakovsky did end up taking a penalty in the defensive zone, but he did a lot of good tonight. He had a nice zone exit and carry all the way up the ice that led to extended zone time and an eventual power play for the Avs. He nearly killed Bishop in the third with his wrist shot, as well.

Matt Calvert – C+

A few nice breakups in overtime on the PK to help calm things down a bit and get a whistle. Otherwise, a somewhat quiet game for him overall, but good shot metrics.

Ian Cole – B

That double hip surgery apparently gave Cole some hops, as he made a great play to grab the puck out of the air and put it through Bishop’s legs. He did end up deflecting the puck into his own net on the game-tying goal, but had a relatively solid night, even if the shot metrics were not pretty.

J.T. Compher – A-

A guy who needed a goal got a huge one for the team at the end of the first period. He did end up losing the face-off leading to the tying goal but caused some chaos in front on the Cole goal and his face-off win in overtime nearly led to an odd-man rush.

Joonas Donskoi – B-

The points aren’t there yet, but I liked a lot of what Donskoi did in this one, after a lot of shots last night. You have to start somewhere, and that line showed some signs of life in this one.

Samuel Girard – C

Like Bellemare, he got caught just watching on the opening goal, but his game turned around after that. Even if his shot isn’t much of a threat, at least he’s using it because it keeps teams honest. We even saw a little of the spin move in this one.

Ryan Graves – A-

Just a really solid game from him. I would prefer it if the Avs offense wasn’t running through him so much, as you don’t need seven shots on goal from a defenseman. He played on the edge in this one but didn’t get anything called on him.

Philipp Grubauer – A

Didn’t have much help on either goal and made some huge saves in this one, including a breakaway on the penalty kill in the second. He was great on the penalty kill in overtime as well. Needs to string a few more like that together.

Erik Johnson – B

Like Cole, the shot metrics were ugly, much uglier than the other defenders, but he got the job done and played a lot. He seems to have a new partner every night.

Nazem Kadri – B-

Not perfect from him, but I liked his game in this one. He drew yet another penalty and could have drawn a few more. Zero shots on goal at even strength is rough, but he played pretty well, overall.

Tyson Jost – B

Jost needed something good to happen offensively, and he did it just by beating his man to the net and putting it right back out front. It created a second chance and was a huge boost for the team. I think it’s telling that he was on the power play in the first period, as the staff liked what they saw.

Gabriel Landeskog – C

Landy’s shot metrics were the best on the team, but it was a bit of an ugly game from the top  line. The good news is they cleaned it up a little bit defensively. Another penalty from him, which is something we’ve said far too often this year.

Nathan MacKinnon – C

It seemed like anytime he would create a rush, it would lead to a shot from a point man from an area of the ice the opposing team will take any day of the week. The offense just feels off for the top line right now, and I’m not sure where to go with it.

Cale Makar – B

A much better performance from him. A flukey first penalty ever to take, but after an iffy start was really good. He joined the rush a bit more tonight and hit the post late in the game.

Valeri Nichushkin -C-

Nichushkin also kind of got beat on that first goal, as he was with the Stars forward and then just wasn’t. A quiet game for him, though, with zero shot attempts.

Matt Nieto – A

Coaches want as many shots as they can get, and Nieto’s shot on the opening goal proved that. It wasn’t a great one, but it created a rebound and Jost and Compher did the rest. Also managed to pick up an assist on the Cole goal as well.

Mikko Rantanen – D

He looked wobbly all night long. At one point rushing the puck up the ice on the power play he nearly fell over about six different times. He got robbed by Bishop late, but he just does not look himself.

Nikita Zadorov – C

Z had a rough start, like Girard, but turned it around the final two periods and had really nice shot metrics. He was limited in ice, though, even with the Avs controlled 64% of the shot attempts with him out there. He’s done well to avoid taking penalties the last month, so to see that come to an end on the delay of game rule is tough.