Avs Game 63 Grades: Frankie's got it

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B

The third line was pretty consistent in this one, generally not getting pinned in their own end. Against a high event team like Carolina, Bellemare was only on the ice for a team-low seven shot attempts against. He looked to be shaken up in the second period but ended the game fine.

Andre Burakovsky – D

Burky returned to the lineup and immediately found himself back on the top line…at least to start the game. He was rusty overall, which was kind of expected, but ended up dropping down the lineup later in the night. Would have loved to see him take some one-timers on the power play rather than holding onto it.

Ian Cole – C

Cole was in the right spot on the Canes’ first goal, but it just bounced in off his stick and in. Not really sure he did anything wrong, just an unfortunate bounce. He was the only defenseman to end up on the plus side in shot metrics, as the Canes just pound the puck at the net.

J.T. Compher – C-

After a couple of strong face-off performances in a row, Compher got beat down tonight (as did most of the centers). His best play of the evening might have been stretching to stay onside for Jost’s opening goal.

Joonas Donskoi – D

Donskoi has taken a large number of offensive zone penalties this season and did so again tonight. Kind of shocking to see him finish the third lowest in time on ice among the forwards.

Pavel Francouz – A

I hated the Canes second goal, but Frankie was the only reason this game was close tonight. The Avs were way too loose in this one defensively, and Frankie came up with some big-time saves. His glove still doesn’t catch everything, but he was using it frequently tonight.

Samuel Girard – A-

It felt like Girard was easily the Avs’ most consistent defenseman throughout the game. He had a few chances jumping in that he failed to finish but stuck with it, and pinched at the right time late in the third for the game-winner.

Ryan Graves – D-

Graves had a rough night by the eye test and got beat down in shot metrics. He was pinching way too much, as there were quite a few odd-man rushes that he was forced to chase back on. Some failed clears on the PK and failed three attempts at the empty net.

Erik Johnson – B-

I loved EJ’s first period. It might have been his best period in 2020. He was moving all over the ice and jumping into the play. His game fell off a bit after that, and I have no idea what he was doing on the Canes second goal.

Vladislav Kamenev – F

Easily the worst player on the ice, and it’s been a bad week for him. That being said, where was concussion protocol on that hit? Kam should not have been allowed back on the ice as quickly as he was.

Martin Kaut – C+

I liked how dependable Kaut was defensively in this one. There wasn’t a lot going on offensively but he’s proving to be dependable defensively, which is rare for 20-year-old wingers.

Tyson Jost – A

Talk about earning a goal. Jost was a monster last game and was rewarded tonight with two goals. It looked like the second one got knocked in by the Canes goalie, but that’s luck turning around a little bit for you. Great shot on the first one. You could tell the team was pumped for him.

Gabriel Landeskog – B-

Landy did not have a great game, but the play of the night battling in the corner and finding Girard wide open for the game-winner. His production has picked up over the last few weeks.

Nathan MacKinnon – C-

It feels so weird to say a guy who had six shots on goal had a quiet night, but it sure seemed like it. The Avs power play was non-existent in this one, and MacK got beat down in the face-off circle.

Cale Makar – C+

Makar’s had a quiet game with spurts of greatness, including a few rushes up the ice. But his best play came on Jost’s second goal, as he held the line and instead of firing a shot, used his vision to hit Jost for the goal. That’s a game-breaking play.

Vladislav Namestnikov – C

After not playing on it his first game, the Avs used Namestnikov on the PK in this one and he did well for himself. His biggest play was with hustle on the game-winning goal, beating the Canes to the puck and getting it back down low.

Valeri Nichushkin – C-

This wasn’t a great game for Nuke. He lost out on getting the puck out prior to the Canes’ first goal and wasn’t that impactful throughout. He did, however, find his way back up on the top line at times with Burky’s struggles.

Matt Nieto – C

I seriously run out of things to say because Nieto is basically invisible in a lot of games (and that’s not a bad thing, really). He was not noticeable at all outside of some strong PK moments.

Nikita Zadorov – F

I felt like the two penalty calls on him were clear makeup calls from the missed one in the first, but the issue tonight was his puck decisions. Just not good from him.