Avs Game 70 Grades: Farewell?

Mark Barberio – C

Barbs once again did not play much, but had a good chance in the first and broke up an icing late in the game. He even dropped back to defense to kill a penalty in the third.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B

Bellemare playing in overtime is not something I ever anticipated seeing, but he even picked up an assist in the extra session. He had a good, hardworking game and looked to be in a good amount of pain after taking a Nieto shot off the ankle.

Ian Cole – D+

Cole was a bit of a turnover machine early and that calmed down a bit as the game went on, but a sloppier night overall for the defense. Made a nice diving defensive play in the third that was pure desperation.

J.T. Compher – B

Compher played a whopping 26 minutes in this one, and got stuck out there a lot defensively trying to stop the Rangers big guns, but did what he could. Had a huge screen on the Namestnikov goal and won the game in overtime. I think he’ll have nightmares about the time he had Panarin coming down on him one on one.

Joonas Donskoi – D

Before he was taken out by a high hit, I didn’t notice Donskoi all night long. He was very quiet, and the fact that he was used so little with that many guys out of the lineup is concerning. Now the worry is a second potential concussion after the dirty hit by Lemieux.

Pavel Francouz – A

Frankie won the Avs this game with a ton of big stops, from the left pad stretch on Kakko to the breakaway stop on Zibanejad. The Avs were sloppy defensively and he bailed them out big time.

Samuel Girard – A

I thought Girard had a masterful game defensively in this one. He was on Panarin every chance he could be, and even though a star like that will get his chances, Girard slowed him down.

Ryan Graves – F

His gap control was a major issue tonight. On the first goal he’s backed into the dot way too quickly, and it happened again on the late tying goal. Had some tough moments with the puck again as well. We’ve reached the point in the season where he’s being played too much, as he led all the D in ice time again tonight.

Erik Johnson – D

After some great games, EJ fell back a good bit tonight. He had a great chance to let one rip in the second period, but opted to pass it off instead and his pass was easily broken up.

Vladislav Kamenev – D

Another offensive zone penalty for Kam. It’s just got to stop. His best play came late when Francouz had lost his blocker and stick and Kam just knew it was no time to mess around the puck, and just launched it down the ice.

Martin Kaut – B

Poor Martin Kaut is headed back to the AHL, purely because of his contract situation. He worked hard again tonight, including a back check to save a breakaway, and good work on the breakout prior to Nieto’s penalty shot. Also stood up for Nieto after the hit. We’ll see you next season, Martin.

Tyson Jost – B+

I’m a little confused about how he didn’t see the ice in overtime, but a confident goal by Jost early in the game, and he had some other good looks as well. If the NHL does really shut down, it’s unfortunate because he’s on a roll.

Gabriel Landeskog – A

Hey, look, another two assists for the Captain, who continues to roll. He won the face-off prior to the Avs’ second goal and could have had a goal of his own, but Georgiev robbed him in the second.

Cale Makar – B+

Overall, Makar had a “sub-par” game according to his coach, and it looked that way to me  He was fumbling pucks, missing assignments, and even falling over out there. But it didn’t matter, as he went full Superstar and put up three assists and dominated overtime

Vladislav Namestnikov – B+

Namestnikov looked to be in a ton of pain after blocking a shot in the first, but stuck with it and scored a nice goal on the power play. He took Nathan MacKinnon’s spot there and let Compher set up the perfect screen.

Valeri Nichushkin – C+

A bit of a quiet night, but a hard-working one for Val. He ended up with no shots on goal in this one but made some much cleaner exits in this one after a mess of a game on Monday.

Matt Nieto – B

Nieto played a ton tonight but did a lot of good. His speed to create a penalty shot was something we really haven’t seen of him much lately. A good night on the PK for him.

Logan O’Connor – C

O’Connor was used late in the game by the staff and made a nice shot block to stop a good look. Played real physical in this one, maybe more physical than ever.

Nikita Zadorov – C-

I thought Z was fine for two periods, and then got himself in trouble in the third. I didn’t really think the penalty was that bad, as he didn’t even move and it looked like incidental contact to me. Even the late tying goal, he ties up the stick but it hits the guys stick shaft. What’s he supposed to do there? Easily his most physical game in months.