Avs Round 2, Game 2 Grades: Slowed to a crawl

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C-

Everyone will be pointing to getting him out of the lineup in place of Newhook, but I don’t know if that happens. NAK was on the ice with the net empty because he at least had some jump going.

Andre Burakovsky – D

It’s really getting hard to defend the constant pull-up, peel back and look for a defender coming in late. His only shot on goal hit Binnington right in the mask, but it was the horrendous pass to Makar that led to the back-breaking goal by Perron in the third. Avs had some momentum, and that play just killed it.

Bowen Byram – B-

I think he held onto the puck a little too long at times for my liking, but he was one of the few guys who didn’t look completely out of the game. Had a rough turnover in the third but dove back to save himself and block Saad’s shot.

Andrew Cogliano – C

The fourth line has not been as effective as they were in round one, but they have been super low event, at least. Cogliano’s cross-checks are making me nervous, as I’m just waiting on one of them to get called.

J.T. Compher – C-

Had a really strong start to the game with a nice takeaway on Tarasenko that led to a chance, and then drew the penalty in the second period. After that he teetered off a good bit and another night where he registers zero shots on goal.

Samuel Girard – D

Followed up a great game with a sub-par one. He’s trying to do the right thing on the first goal but if you’re going to get a stick on it, you have to get all of it. Credit to Kyrou, though, for changing the angle of the shot late. I did like his hit on the much bigger Mikkola late.

Darren Helm – C-

Played physical and had a good look in the third but I’m not even sure his shot came anywhere into the vicinity of the net.

Erik Johnson – C+

He had some issues in his own zone with little chips along the wall that weren’t really going anywhere. Has not hesitated to jump into the play at all so far in this series.

Nazem Kadri – D+

He continues to shoot but his shots tonight were not a lot of grade-A chances. Tried to rush up the ice in the second period but when he went to make his move, completely lost the puck. His only goal in the playoffs is the gift from Ingram in round one, so they definitely need more.

Darcy Kuemper – B-

Kept the Avs in it in the first period, and two deflection goals beat him, but the Perron goal is one where you could really use a save. The odd-man rush is not ideal but Kuemper had trouble catching the puck all night long and that one just hit the bottom of his glove.

Gabriel Landeskog – C

Nice to see him get on the scoresheet and he was the only guy who seemed capable of winning a face-off, but there were quite a few defensive zone turnovers from Landy, which is not usual.

Artturi Lehkonen – C-

Didn’t register a single shot attempt, but had a nice look in the third when he cut to the middle and unfortunately just lost the puck. Pretty physical game from him, though.

Nathan MacKinnon – D

I really didn’t like MacK in his own end. Didn’t seem to have the jump, and the Blues did a good job surrounding him when he did get the puck, but in the defensive zone and the neutral zone, a lot of standing around.

Cale Makar – D

Went awkwardly into the net at the end of the first, but seemed to be okay. Beyond that, we haven’t seen the Makar we’re accustomed to yet in this series. They got by in Game 1 without it, but tonight it was obvious they needed more from their top-end guys and didn’t get it, Makar included.

Josh Manson – D

Manson really struggled with the puck. Lots of misplays in his own end and on breakouts. That pair, more than the others, got stuck in their own end a lot.

Valeri Nichushkin – C-

Love the effort on the shorthanded chance, and I know he was put in a tough spot, but I really don’t have a problem with the call. Nuke, like everyone, struggled passing the puck and a lot of his tip passes ended up in turnovers.

Mikko Rantanen – F

Something has got to give here. There’s no real energy coming from Mikko. When he gets the puck, he doesn’t really move his feet a whole lot. On the power play, he was standing still most of the time on the wall. Only two shots on goal, and one was a harmless floater from the boards that actually killed a good shift for the Avs. They need a lot more.

Nico Sturm – D

Had a decent hit in the third period along the boards, but that was kind of the only time I noticed him. Nothing really happens with him on the ice, which is alright if the top three lines are doing the scoring, but on a night like this, the lack of any offensive punch becomes obvious.

Devon Toews – C-

I like the idea of Toews dumping the puck in and chasing it himself because the Avs had nothing going on and that’s how they need to play, but the penalty was a clear one to me, and right in front of the ref it’ll get called every time.