Avs Game 6 Grades: Ugly point

Erik Johnson – C-

Johnson’s turnover trying to fire a puck through traffic in the neutral zone directly led to the second Pittsburgh goal and that continues to be a problem that plagues him. There were some good moments from him, though, just not enough to make up for his big mistake of the evening.

Cale Makar – B

I thought this might have been Makar’s best all-around game of the season. It was imperfect, of course, and his lack of scoring to end his point streak was disappointing but overall I didn’t have any major complaints. I’d like to see him put pucks on net from the point on the PP but that’s going to be a work in progress all year for him. Overall, quite pleased with his play. Hell, even his play on Tanev on the game-winning goal is too hard to argue with. He forced Tanev wide and the puck would have gone harmlessly to the corner had Landeskog not been standing there. This Makar has a chance to be special.

Matt Calvert – A

Another night, another goal from the fourth line. Calvert told me before the season he wanted to score 30 points. He’s got four through six games so that’s a pretty good pace. His on-ice results were also excellent as scoring chances favored the Avs 7-2 with Calvert on the ice. That is exceptional from a player with 10 minutes of ESTOI.

J.T. Compher – C-

Had a chance to change the game with a shorthanded breakaway in the first and the Avs leading 1-0. It appeared he missed the net entirely. It was his first game back from injury so surely some rust existed but that was definitely a big missed opportunity. I thought he got better as the game went on but lacked the impact he is capable of.

Mark Barberio – C

I thought after the first period I was going to spend a significant amount of time talking about the Zadorov-Barberio lineup swap and what a mess it ended up being. I thought Barberio got significantly better as the game progressed, however, and he made a number of very good plays with the puck in his own zone while under duress. That kind of effectiveness wins over coaches hardcore. I thought this was his best game so far this season

Tyson Jost – C-

I don’t even know what to do with this grade. The on-ice results are almost dead even with a slight edge in scoring chances but not significantly. But actually watching the game, I mean, he was leading a three on one where he weakly fired the puck right at Matt Murray. No deception, no attempt to pass, no threat of anything. It was one of the best scoring chances in the game that went nowhere. On the other hand, he helped create one of the best scoring chances in the game. That’s not irrelevant. I thought the process was fine as a whole but I’m dinging him a bit for lack of finish.

Colin Wilson – C+

I’m giving him a slight nod on the plus here because his underlying numbers are just north of even. I just didn’t notice him a lot tonight outside of his usual winning of puck battles along the wall. His first game remains his best so far.

Ryan Graves – B

I actually loved his game tonight. He definitely got worked by Guentzel on the second PIT goal and that exposed his biggest weakness, which is a real lack of foot speed.

Ian Cole – C+

I liked the PK work, I liked some of his puck decisions (he got an assist!), and I liked some of his physicality. The penalty he was called for was straight up Zadorovian nonsense. If this is the version of Cole they get every night, I personally don’t have any issues. I’d like to see him cut down on some of the quality of chances allowed when he’s on the ice but you could probably say that for everyone.

Nathan MacKinnon – A

Look, he was a warrior tonight. He was clearly compromised after taking the big hit in the first period. That thigh bruise is going to swell and stiffen over the next couple of days but he did well to stay loose tonight and keep it from holding him back all night. He showed his normal explosion in the third period and overtime his game-tying goal was vintage MacKinnon. He still hasn’t put together one of those “holy smokes” games but he has nine points in six games. He scored major toughness points with me tonight.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B-

Really liked his game. Simple, repeatable, effective. The only ding here is 44% in the FO circle. When that’s one of the reasons you were brought in, you need to be better than that. He needs a dominant night in the dot to get going.

Samuel Girard – D

I really don’t like giving out Fs to players but if I strictly used my eyes, Girard would have warranted it tonight. Sloppy with the puck is no way to live and when he’s one of Colorado’s primary puck handlers on the back end, the Avalanche consistently struggles to get going. That showed tonight as their transition game was dead in the water. Part of that was on Girard. He was also bad defensively and will forever be on the wrong end of a Crosby highlight. But the on-ice results came out to even. Funny enough, that’s the sign of a really good player. A guy having a tough night breaking even is a reminder of how good he can be. He just wasn’t tonight.

Joonas Donskoi – D+

This might have been his worst game as an Av so far. He hit the post in the first period and had one other notable scoring chance before otherwise completely disappearing entirely. This was a reminder of why Donskoi is more of a middle-six player instead of a bonafide top-six.

Matt Nieto – B

Nice play to get the puck to Calvert in the middle of the ice, even if it was a little bit lucky. He continues to be an effective player no matter which line he lands on. He was solid again tonight and the assist was big.

Nazem Kadri – D

I didn’t think Kadri was any good tonight overall. He had a couple of nice backchecks on the night but didn’t do much of anything offensively and was one of the Avs who ended up in the negative column in shot share. He also got beat up in the faceoff circle, which has not happened much.

Gabriel Landeskog – F

I didn’t like his game through the first two periods and then thought there were some moments in the third period that were okay. But overtime was nothing short of a Landeskog nightmare. He completely botched a two on one and then essentially scored the game-winning goal for the Pens. It won’t be hard for the captain to respond to this one.

Andre Burakovsky – C+

Unlike his linemates, I actually found myself digging quite a bit of what Burakovsky was doing tonight. I’m buying what he’s selling right now. Jared Bednar clearly is, too, as he put him on the ice with MacKinnon in overtime.

Mikko Rantanen – D-

He had the nice pass to MacKinnon to help create the game-tying goal but otherwise was a mess tonight. He was far too turnover prone and his overtime wasn’t quite as bad as Landeskog’s but it wasn’t far removed. A mess.

Philipp Grubauer – B+

The two regulation goals against him were both excellent goals and he bailed out a very lethargic team in front of him for two periods. The overtime goal certainly wasn’t on him as that puck would’ve gone wide without Landeskog being there. He played very well again. Grubauer has been called the backbone of this team by multiple teammates and he’s certainly proving it.