Avs Game 70 Grades: Bo's back

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C

Some good, high-effort plays, even if they didn’t result in much. Was one of the guys out there in the lol goals at the end.

Andre Burakovsky – A

Normally not a fan of him on the top line, but tonight it worked well. Was actually most impressed with a lot of his work on the forecheck, maybe not his strong suit. Good retrieval on the first goal, and lots of hard work through the game.

Bowen Byram – A+

It doesn’t matter how he played (looked like Bo to me). What matters is he was back out there. Just great to see.

Andrew Cogliano – C

Thought he was spread a little too thin with his role, but loved the effort and hopefully he’s not too beat up after diving to clear the puck at the end of the game.

J.T. Compher – B+

For two games, Avs have been able to get a lot of mileage out of Compher on the second line. Perhaps it’s one of his hot streaks, which he’s been known to have from time to time.

Darren Helm – C

That line got caved in pretty bad but finished on a relatively high note (minus the lost face-off leading to the goal at the end). That’s a few goals over the last week to separate himself from NAK but still will be interesting to see how things go if this team ever gets healthy.

Erik Johnson – C+

Did just enough and was a safe partner for Byram in his first game back. Relatively low event with EJ on the ice.

Jack Johnson – C

Loved seeing him dangle around Evan Rodrigues in the neutral zone in the second period. Once again, the clear third defenseman on the depth chart in terms of time on ice.

Darcy Kuemper – B

The rebound control is a little scary, as some tough rebounds happened on more than just the first goal by the Penguins. Still, he held down things pretty well until the Penguins scored some cheap goals late when it was out of reach.

Artturi Lehkonen – B-

I didn’t like him at all in the first period. He looked a little slower to the puck than he has in his first few games with the Avs. After that, he started to look a little more like himself and crashed the net on a few of the goals to create chaos. Nice to see him get on the board.

Kurtis MacDermid – INC

Fresh off a new extension…he played. Barely. Did throw one big hit but not enough to reach the quota for time on ice.

Nathan MacKinnon – A-

Don’t love seeing the tape on his finger, but I guess that’s the cost of doing business after his fight the other night. But with a depleted top six, MacKinnon took it upon himself to get the team going offensively. He got crushed in the face-off circle, but that happens a lot.

Cale Makar – B-

Really hoping that the 28 minute a night thing slows down as Byram gets back into it, and Girard gets back in. Hit the post early in the game on the powerplay and had some good looks, including a play where he jumped up in the second but was stopped by Jarry.

Josh Manson – C+

Nice to see him get on the board with the goal. Didn’t love him missing the pass on the second Penguins goal, but I also think it wasn’t the best pass. Still risky with his reads on pinches.

Alex Newhook – B

For someone who was sick, he sure didn’t look it. Sweet move on the Compher goal, cutting in on your off wing and putting the puck under the defender’s stick to get around them. That’s smooth.

Logan O’Connor – B-

Maybe that high effort play to end the game with the Helm goal can get him going, it’s the type of play we saw from him consistently the first few months. It’s not just the assist, but the blocked shot and battle for the puck.

Mikko Rantanen – B

You know what, Mikko tried pretty damn hard to keep that puck from going past the goal line on the second Penguins goal. Deep down, he must be a little bummed at Toews because that was a show of power. Liked his game other than that.

Nico Sturm – B-

There is no offense there, but the high level of effort is consistently there. At least once a game he dives to get the puck out of the zone. That’s the effort the coaches desire.

Devon Toews – B-

Really thought he was on his heels a lot of the first 30 minutes, but picked it up in the second half. He’s trying to do the right thing on the second Penguins goal, but the execution was not great with Mikko holding it down.