Avs Game 45 Grades: Beastly battle

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – B+

The fourth line were animals when they were out there together, and had a tremendous shift in the first period where they spent 55 seconds in the offensive zone. NAK didn’t get a ton of time in the third period but liked what he did when he was out there, playing physical and a simple game.

Andre Burakovsky – B

Launched the puck at will trying to get out of his slump. Took the big hit to make the play on the game-winning goal that will win him some brownie points with the coaching staff. Eventually, his shot will find its way into the net.

J.T. Compher – C+

Super intelligent bank pass to Helm on the penalty kill for a great chance in the second period, but not a whole lot was going for the “third” line, to the point where it got jumbled up a good bit late.

Samuel Girard – B

Girard’s mobility was on display and helpful against a top-tier team. At one point in the first period, he spun away from the forecheck and slowly skated the puck from his own end to the offensive zone. That’s what they need from G.

Darren Helm – B+

First game back was very successful. Hard on the puck, spent most of his time in the offensive zone, and had some good moments on the penalty kill. PK got better with him out, so will be interesting to see how it does with him back.

Erik Johnson – B-

Really loved him the first half of the game, with some nice plays physically in the defensive zone and a nice block fronting the player that led to the Toews goal. In the second half of the game, it was a little more up and down, but then late he battled hard with some long shifts, blocking shots and keeping players away from Kuemper as much as he could.

Jack Johnson – C

Got caught, uh, flat-footed, to say the least on the first Tampa Bay goal. Kucherov gave it up to Point and left JJ in the dust. I really am not sure what was up with the penalty on him, just looked like a couple of guys battling for positioning to me.

Tyson Jost – B+

This was the Tyson Jost game you want to see every night if you could. Tenacious in the offensive zone, strong defensively, and created some things offensively. It earned him a little more ice time late, including a shift on the second line.

Nazem Kadri – C

Kadri was teetering on the edge but pulled it together. I didn’t like the first call against him, as Hedman sold that really well to the ref. Altitude didn’t show a replay on the second penalty, so not even sure what happened. Great feed on the Toews goal.

Darcy Kuemper – B+

The only plays that beat him tonight were all-world plays by Point and Kucherov. Vasilevsky did his best to put on a show for Tampa Bay at the other end, but Kuemper held up his end of the bargain with some big saves. Controlling a rebound in the final minute to give some of those guys a rest was huge and helped stabilize things.

Gabriel Landeskog – B+

Your standard Landeskog special goal, deflecting a shot from up high in for another tally. The top line was absolutely dominant in terms of shot share and crushed the Point/Kucherov combination when they were matched up.

Cale Makar – B

Some strong work defensively, a couple of big hits along the boards, and some nice puck movement. He had some trouble getting his shot through to the net when he was on the right point, but teams are focusing on him big time.

Ryan Murray – D

I don’t put as much blame on him for the first goal, as JJ was completely lost behind him, but he didn’t do much to break up the pass. The second goal against was just a lack of awareness, and he looked flustered the rest of the night. The play where he hesitated and held the puck along the wall, only to get flattened by Perry was bizarre. It was like his controller disconnected for a second.

Alex Newhook – C+

Nearly created a goal in the second when he realized he wasn’t going to beat Hedman to the inside, so went around the net and banked a puck off Johnson that nearly got over the goal line (maybe it did? Who knows). Also had a quick breakaway in the first. After the Point goal, where he kind of did a fly-by on Sergachev, he got moved down to the third line.

Valeri Nichushkin – A

+23/-5 in shot attempts, and the game-winning goal. Also had some fantastic work along the boards prior to the Landeskog goal. McNab flubbed and called him Kamensky on-air. I wouldn’t go that far, as a Kamensky super-fan, but he’s had a tremendous year.

Logan O’Connor – C

Got the promotion up to the second line in the third period, but I think some of that was to stabilize things defensively, as that line was very high event overall. Nothing too fancy coming from LOC.

Mikko Rantanen – B

Want to see him get more involved physically in a game like this, but playing out of position against an all-world team, he more than held his own as the top center.

Dylan Sikura – C

He came back up instead of playing MacDermid, but didn’t do much with what little ice time he got. Barely got over the threshold of an INC grade.

Devon Toews – A

The guy needed a rest, and sure looked rested. Nine shot attempts, a great pinch for yet another goal, another assist, and 25 minutes of ice time. He was back to being the guy who does everything and does it well.