Avs Game 71 Grades: Surviving another overtime

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C-

Giving him the slight bump for his goal despite it being as lucky as it was. He seems to do all of his damage early in games and then totally disappear. Some of that is usage, of course, but it’s interesting the way he fades during games.

Andre Burakovsky – A

A goal and an assist. Loved the shot. Second time he’s beaten Hellebuyck in that exact spot this season. His wrister is so lethal he can change a game with just that quick flick. That’s what he did tonight. Didn’t have anything for me to really bag on.

Bowen Byram – B-

I wrote about this in the recap already but I love his competitiveness. He picked up a freebie assist but he battled and battled all night. Still working his way back into it but his minutes went up, which is always an endorsement. Terrible giveaway on the second WPG goal.

Andrew Cogliano – D+

First game I didn’t notice him much in a positive way. Just one shift where he made a nice play in the neutral zone to move the puck the right direction. Mostly forgettable night. Absolutely crushed in shot metrics.

J.T. Compher – B-

I know the shot metrics aren’t great, but I loved his energy tonight. He played with some real gusto and made multiple plays that could’ve resulted in goals. Beat Hellebuyck on his penalty shot but then missed the backhand. Would’ve been a nice birthday present. Didn’t look ready for Byram’s pass at all on the second WPG goal. Ugly.

Darren Helm – D

This line just got beat up all night. There isn’t much to say. Decent work on the PK at least.

Erik Johnson – D+

Where was he going on that disastrous pinch that opened the door to Winnipeg’s first goal? I’ve watched it 10 times and can’t figure out what his read was there. He just stepped into open space with no realistic chance to make a play on the puck or the puck carrier and left the other Johnson hanging out to dry. His goal helped make up for it, but he was bad. His ice time was properly cut based on his play.

Jack Johnson – D

I don’t know the last time I saw a defender eaten alive on a two-on-one as badly as Johnson was on Scheifele’s first goal. He made a fake attempt at Ehlers and then was totally turned around that the pass from Ehlers across wasn’t even close to Johnson. He made a tough situation look impossible. A bad night.

Pavel Francouz – B

Some juicy rebounds but he also got peppered and didn’t get any help on a couple of the goals. The third goal is a great shot. Big stops on some odd-man rushes and breakaways as the Avs were leaky early on.

Artturi Lehkonen – B

Sprung Compher for his breakaway that led to the penalty shot. He’s such a smart player and his effort is exceptional. I don’t think there’s a lot of skill there but I see a very useful player who absolutely dogs opponents on the forecheck. Flexed his puck retrieval ability on the power play next to Nichushkin. That was a clinic in winning puck battles.

Nathan MacKinnon – A+

He had a goal, an assist, 11 shots on goal and four hits. He played nearly 24 minutes. He was everything you ask a superstar to be tonight. I’m not dinging him for not hitting that empty-net goal. I’m giving credit to Josh Morrissey, who I thought made a great play in keeping the puck out. MacKinnon rocked tonight.

Cale Makar – A-

I thought he was bad defensively. I mean just bad. No caveats. I watched him lose guys in the zone, get worked on pucks, and botch multiple breakouts. Then he makes an unreal play through the neutral zone that leads to Colorado’s fourth goal and when that wasn’t enough, does it himself and finished the game in OT. He didn’t play that well, but his impact was the biggest of impacts and that’s driving the grade here.

Josh Manson – B

I know the shot metrics weren’t great, but I loved him embracing Colorado’s identity. The coaching staff wants defenders to jump into the play and activate and Manson was all over that tonight. He can get lost in his own aggression at times, but I loved his game overall. His jostling with Dubois led directly to a penalty as Dubois was heated from a net front battle and took it out on Manson with a cross-check. Five more hits and an assist (albeit a lucky one).

Alex Newhook – C+

Just not meant for a top-six matchup as he got tonight, but I thought he was moving at a high level. Two assists but the first was very lucky and the second was a shot Hellebuyck probably should’ve had, so I’m not letting them override the process parts of his game, which just weren’t great tonight. He held his own individually a little better at times but this game is another in a long line of “he needs more offensively gifted linemates to really pop off”

Valeri Nichushkin – B

You know how Dennis Rodman was a very limited NBA player but had a preternatural ability to rebound and defend at an elite level? That’s Val Nichushkin on the forecheck. He reads puck retrieval situations unbelievably well. I strongly suggest tomorrow night just watching him for an entire shift or two. He pestered the Jets so badly on the forecheck during one shift that Dubois went out of his way to give Nichushkin a shot as they each headed to the bench.

Logan O’Connor – D

This line got crushed all night. Winnipeg feasted on them and LOC just didn’t do anything to push back.

Mikko Rantanen – B+

I suppose this grade comes down to how to feel about the penalty called on him in the final minute. I thought it was a 50-50 call, so I’m firmly in the middle with no strong feeling either way. Both assists were good. Played with some snarl tonight.

Nico Sturm – D

First game where I really felt Sturm was overmatched. Digging into it, that’s because he was. He spent most of the game matched up against Dubois and Scheifele’s lines. Of course he got rocked in those matchups. That said, he got rocked, so I can’t give him too high a grade. Assist though!

Devon Toews – C

Felt Toews really struggled at times tonight but didn’t have the offensive flair to bail him out this time. The blocked shot at the end of regulation is a concern until someone tells me it isn’t. He let multiples Jets forwards behind him tonight. That is not common.