Avs Game 55 Grades: Shut it down!

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – D

This line really struggled throughout the game. They struggled to hang onto the puck and spent a lot of time chasing in their own end. Bellemare had some rough turnovers in this one, including one trying to leave the zone late.

Andre Burakovsky – B

In his first full game on the top line, Burakovsky had some good chances in this one, including a crossbar early in this one. He was relatively quiet and deferred to his linemates through some of the game but made a great pass on Nichushkin’s goal that more or less sealed the game.

Matt Calvert – D+

I have to give it to Calvert, because he was all-out effort in this one again, including grinding it out, but the puck simply couldn’t stay on his stick. Just not a great night for that line, just not for lack of effort.

Ian Cole – C-

Cole had some rough moments in this one, most of them in the defensive zone, including getting walked by Ennis in the first period. He told me this morning he’s focused on having a shooting mentality in the offensive zone and that continued with four shot attempts in this one.

J.T. Compher – B

Compher skated really well in this one, and that line had multiple chances to bury the puck, including a crazy frenzy towards the end of the first. He led all forwards with four even-strength shot attempts.

Joonas Donskoi – B-

A lot like Compher, Donskoi was moving really well and was one of the few guys whose hands seemed to be working. He had a nice rush late in the game that almost snuck through Hogberg.

Samuel Girard – C-

Sammy picked up a power play assist late in the game and recovered after a pretty rough first period overall. He got bailed out by a review late in the second period when he failed to take advantage of an Ottawa player’s broken stick and instead turned it over, leading to an odd-man rush the other way.

Ryan Graves – B

Big surprise here, but Graves picked up another assist in this one. I’ve got to be honest…I really didn’t notice Graves all that much out there in this one. That might be a good thing, though. Considering his partner struggled tonight, him not falling victim to that as well is a good sign.

Philipp Grubauer – A+

It’s starting to feel like Grubauer is getting into a groove again. This is around the time he hit his stride last year, and he looked really strong with a lot of swagger out there tonight. He was in good spirits after the game as well, joking around with the media. That’s a sign of a confident goalie.

Erik Johnson – A-

This was one of EJ’s more active games of late, and you could tell he was hunting for a goal, especially late when he had three shot attempts on one shift alone. He had the best shot metrics on the team and led the Avs by far with eight shot attempts.

Vladislav Kamenev – B

Here we are again with Kamenev stepping in and looking good. The fourth line was easily the Avs’ most consistent line in this one, spending a lot of time in the Ottawa end and playing very simple hockey.

Tyson Jost – B+

He didn’t play a ton, but I thought Jost may have been the Avs most effective forward not named Mikko Rantanen. The staff used him a little bit shorthanded, which hasn’t been the case this season, and is something I’m happy to see them try. His legs were moving and he did a lot of good things, including drawing a penalty in the first.

Gabriel Landeskog – D+

The puck was not Gabe’s friend tonight, as he had multiple turnovers and poor passes. I do love his shot first mentality right now, and I had no problem with him going after Demelo to send a message, but he needs to be smarter with the puck than he was tonight.

Nathan MacKinnon – C-

The fact that MacKinnon didn’t draw a penalty tonight is absurd. He took a shot to the cheek from Demelo early, then was tackled by him on a rush a few minutes later. MacK didn’t forget, as he was constantly taking shots at Demelo. The power play was horrendous, and MacK seemed to be forcing things a bit.

Cale Makar – D

Makar really struggled with the puck tonight, and the staff seemed to notice, as he was the low man in time on ice at even strength. You can usually tell when Makar has it early in a game, and he had some turnovers in the first tonight that were an indication it might not be his game.

Valeri Nichushkin – C+

I thought Nuke really struggled for most of the evening, but picked it up big time in the third period, drawing a penalty on a rush and then scoring on the power play for good measure. He took a swipe at Demelo after his goal, just to get his shot in.

Matt Nieto – B

Strong game from Nieto overall, who has worked really well with the two youngsters in Jost and Kamenev when they’ve been together. The PK had a strong night in this one, and he is one of the leaders among the forward group for the kill.

Mikko Rantanen – A

Where has that Mikko been the last two months or so? His goal to get things started was bananas, as most 6’5″ guys can’t make a spin move look that easy. He had a dominant shift in the second period where he was just abusing the Ottawa defenders. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.

Nikita Zadorov – C

Had a few issues on the breakout, but played quietly effective most of the night. Threw a nice big hit in the offensive zone towards the end of the first that got the Avs into this one a little bit.