Avs Game 43 Grades: They can't all be perfect

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C

Hey, he didn’t take a penalty! Didn’t love his game, but didn’t hate it either. One shift summed up his night, where he turned it over in the offensive zone, but then battled back to get the puck back. Some good, and some bad.

Andre Burakovsky – C-

Fair to say he’s in the doghouse right now, as he was demoted to the fourth line for an AHL player in the second period. Had a nice burst for a breakaway in the third that should have been a penalty shot, but missed really high. Beyond the struggles scoring, just general soft play is probably what is causing him to get demoted.

J.T. Compher – B-

Liked his forecheck and had some good chances offensively that he couldn’t capitalize on. Not a bad follow-up to a Gordie Howe hat trick.

Samuel Girard – B

The defense, in general, was really sloppy, but Girard was the one that played probably the cleanest game of them all. Picked up another power play assist stepping onto the first unit and had far and away the best shot share numbers on the defense.

Erik Johnson – C

His first period was pretty ugly overall, but in the second and third, had some nice breakups in the defensive zone using his stick. Looks like a guy who needs to get to that All-star break.

Jack Johnson – C

The penalty called on him was a bit of a joke, as he just fell over and just happened to clip the Sabres forward with his leg. It’s not like he went to slide to break up a play. Not much he could really do there.

Tyson Jost – C

I have no faith that he’s going to score when the puck gets on his stick, and he had some decent looks that didn’t quite get close.

Nazem Kadri – B

Just keeps on scoring, and doing it with new linemates on different nights, it seems. Really bummed he couldn’t hit that over on the shots on net.

Darcy Kuemper – A

Great game and the Avs really let Buffalo get way more chances than they had any right to get. It’s funny how sometimes he can’t seem to keep a puck in his glove, and then he goes and makes an absurd glove save on Skinner in the second period and holds onto it like it’s nothing. Most of the team seems to need a break, but he’s one guy who probably doesn’t want one.

Gabriel Landeskog – C

Got slaughtered while on the ice but managed to rack up another goal off an all-world feed from Rantanen. Loved a play in the third when he dumped it in while his linemates were changing and managed to come out with the puck against two Sabres defenders. The Avs didn’t get much going in the third, so any sort of puck control helped.

Kurtis MacDermid – C-

Had some really ugly pinches that led to rushes the other way, but once he was in the defensive zone, kind of liked how he handled things more than his partner on a few occasions. Really pumped up those shot attempt numbers on that last shift of the game.

Cale Makar – D+

Picked up the automatic assist on the power play, but boy did that pairing struggle. I liked him more than Toews, but the two of them combined for some pretty ugly work on that 5 on 3. They didn’t seem to be on the same page.

Mikhail Maltsev – B-

I really liked him again. Noticed him throw his body around big time along the Avs bench in the third, and had a nice steal and chance in the second period. Also hit Burakovsky for the breakaway in the third. Doing a lot of good things.

Alex Newhook -B+

Another game in the top six where he manages to show really well. I want to see him be a little more selfish at even strength and shoot the puck, as he passed up a chance in the third in a good spot to do so, but he was energetic on the ice and around the puck most of the evening.

Valeri Nichushkin – D

Managed to pick up two points on what was one of his ugliest games in a while. In the first five minutes alone, he had four ugly turnovers and it didn’t stop there. The penalty in the third period was a little selfish. He’s been a beast all year so it was an outlier.

Logan O’Connor – B+

Funny that he was the only forward without a shot attempt at even strength because he was their hardest worker all night and caused Rasmus Dahlin a ton of problems on the forecheck. Disrupted plays, blocked shots, just a great energy game from him when the rest of the team didn’t seem to have a ton.

Mikko Rantanen – B-

All world assist to Landeskog. No look and hits him on the stick for an easy tap-in. Loved seeing him rip the puck from his patented spot on the powerplay. Feels like it’s been a bit since we saw him score from there. For not being a natural center, managed well in the face-off dot too.

Dylan Sikura – B+

Credit where it’s due; got a big chance to step up onto the second line and did a great job. Lots of smart plays to keep pucks alive in the offensive zone, and the tap over to Kadri for his goal was quick thinking.

Devon Toews – D

That was ugly. The second period was a mess for him. On back-to-back shifts, he had a turnover behind his net that led to the only Sabres goal, and an ugly pinch that led to the Sabres hitting the crossbar on a two on one. Not the Toews we know, and the Avs really got crushed with him on the ice (20.69% CF).