Avs Game 63 Grades: Star studded game

Nicholas Aube-Kubel – F

On a day when a couple of guys were acquired to more or less remove NAK from the lineup, he didn’t put up much of a fight. He had one mini rush in the first where he lost the dump in the corner but was not on the ice for a single shot on net by the Avs.

Andre Burakovsky – D+

The first two periods were straight-up ugly. He had one good chance on the power play and completely whiffed. The third was a little better, and he drew a penalty by putting his face in the right spot.

J.T. Compher – C

They did decent in shot share, but that line had a tough time hitting the net at all. Compher himself had a good chance in the first that he airmailed over the top of the net. Considering how the rest of the lines that didn’t have MacKinnon on them did, they at least held their own.

Darren Helm – D

Didn’t have a great night by any means, much like Aube-Kubel, but at least did some things on the PK.

Erik Johnson – B-

Who knew EJ still had it in him to catch McDavid on a backcheck? McDavid kind of fumbled the puck a bit but EJ was on his…horse.

Jack Johnson – B

JJ turned into Bobby Orr on one shift in the second, spinning away from a defender, getting a good chance, and then hustling back to steal the puck from the Oilers. His only problem was that he got saddled with Manson most of the game, who was a nightmare.

Nazem Kadri – D

Not Kadri’s best showing. He went head to head a lot against McDavid and got beat down pretty badly, but not to the point of giving up a goal against, so that’s something. His best play of the game might have been knocking Nurse’s helmet off his head in overtime.

Darcy Kuemper – B

Maybe got caught trying to bite a bit to his glove side on the Kane goal, but played a solid game otherwise as the Avs looked to be outplayed, certainly at even strength, through two periods.

Kurtis MacDermid – B

He moved back to defense pretty early in the night and more or less held his own. Threw some big hits, including one on Kane behind his own net.

Nathan MacKinnon – A

He was a man on a mission in the first period, and even though he couldn’t bury one, was dominant out there, including a marathon 2:56 shift at the end of the first that produced a litany of chances. He finally got his goal in overtime on a perfect shot.

Cale Makar – A

The top pair was the only pair that created anything past center ice, and Makar saw an opportunity in overtime to step up and that ended the game. He tried to do it at the end of regulation but couldn’t pull it off.

Josh Manson – F

The cameras cut to Manson after his first shift and he already looked exhausted. Maybe the altitude hit him immediately because that was a truly ugly game pretty much from the get-go. Get it out of your system early, I guess.

Ryan Murray – INC

The story of his career. Just when you think he’s getting it going, he gets hurt. A shame.

Alex Newhook – C

Had his best opportunity of the night in the third period in the slot and wired it wide. That was the story of the night from that line.

Valeri Nichushkin – A-

He quite literally did everything except score. Great forecheck, great backcheck, a nice rush in overtime, but he missed several grade-A scoring opportunities that we’d be looking back on if the Avs didn’t pull off the victory.

Logan O’Connor – D

He shouldn’t be playing on the second line, I think we can all see that, as he just doesn’t have it offensively and it kind of looks like the marathon NHL season is hitting him a little bit.

Mikko Rantanen – A-

Well, when Mikko wants to, he can turn it on a bit. Scored two goals, and had a few chances to bury a third, including a nice look on the powerplay in the third period. The powerplay was pretty dominant most of the night.

Nico Sturm – C

Had a nice forecheck and back pass to Newhook in the slot but Newhook sailed it wide. A pretty uneventful night, which you’ll take from him most nights when he gets moved down. That third line trio produced zero shots on net between the three of them.

Devon Toews – B+

He proved that even he is human when McDavid went around him in the first, and it happened so quickly that Toews fell over. Beyond that, he had a strong night himself, with most of it coming against Draisaitl and McDavid.