Avs/Stars Game 1 Grades: Sloppy from the start

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – D

The fourth line was missing a big part of it today, and it showed. They failed to grind out anything offensively and Bellemare looked a little slow. As you’ll see with these grades, he certainly wasn’t alone…

Andre Burakovsky – F

Sloppy all over the place. The second line was a negative pretty much all evening, and Burky was floating out there a good bit. With him in this postseason, it’s been wildly up and down. When he’s good, he’s really good, but when he’s bad, it’s not pretty.

Ian Cole – D

Just prior to the Stars’ second goal, the Avs had control of the puck, but Cole passed it blindly behind the Avs net and put it right on the Stars stick. From there, it was chaos. He had a poor showing but in comparison to a few of the other D, it was nothing.

J.T. Compher – F

A complete non-factor in this game. Zero shot attempts in 15 minutes of ice time and got heavily outplayed at even strength. The depth was just not there tonight.

Joonas Donskoi – F

Much like JTC, played 15 minutes and didn’t attempt a single shot on net. Like Burakovsky, has been pretty inconsistent this postseason.

Pavel Francouz – C+

Not an easy situation to come into and he looked decent in the second. I don’t much care for that second goal he allowed, but the play in front of both goaltenders was atrocious most of the evening.

Samuel Girard – C

The Stars are going to hit Girard and hit him hard if tonight is any indication. He took a few big hits and some of his passes leaving the zone led to turnovers but was one of the few defenders who did some good things overall.

Ryan Graves – F

Graves looked slow from the start of the puck, and in the third period, looked a little out of it, missing Makar by about six feet on a D to D pass. Two penalties from him in this one. He’s been solid this postseason so don’t expect this to continue.

Philipp Grubauer – INC

These next two I’ll give INC because they weren’t able to complete the game, but before they were hurt, it wasn’t pretty. Three goals in the first on seven shots put the Avs behind the eight ball. The second one was flukey, but the Avs needed a big stop. The injury is bad news with how condensed this schedule is going to get. It did not look good, so just have to hope for the best.

Erik Johnson – INC

EJ was lost on the first goal, turning it over behind the net and then going to cover the same guy behind the net that JTC was covering. The injury did not look good. I’m surprised he came back, but I’ll be surprised if he is good to go next game. He didn’t look comfortable getting around. Have to love the guy, though, just choosing to come back to the bench and cheer on his team.

Tyson Jost – C

Jost’s best moments came in the latter half of the game, but he was one of the few forwards who at least flashed something. Had a good chance in front in the third that he wasn’t able to sneak past Khudobin.

Nazem Kadri – D

Kadri had his moments, but I really didn’t like his game overall, particularly in the defensive zone, as that line got stuck out there a good bit in their own end. I’m still of the belief that Landy should go back to that line to spread things out, but not sure how you change up the top line after tonight.

Gabriel Landeskog – A

Hopefully this game gets him going. He was physical, and the puck was working with him. His first goal since entering the bubble hopefully boosts his confidence a bit. Now they just need the other guy on that line to find his game at even strength.

Nathan MacKinnon – A

Well, don’t blame MacK for this one. He was a monster all night long, and has endless amount of energy, as he played over 10 minutes in the third period himself. He showed up in Prime Time, but didn’t get a ton of help.

Cale Makar – B

Not perfect in his own end, but created a good bit offensively. Played a ton in this game without EJ, and seemed to get a little worn down in the third period. Definitely was not the issue on the backend.

Vladislav Namestnikov – F

Got back into the lineup after a few games out due to a head injury, and definitely looked off. I’m not even sure he would have gotten into the lineup if Calvert was okay. Did not fit in style-wise with his linemates at all.

Valeri Nichushkin – F

Did Nuke even play? The season shutting down seems to have cut down on all of the offensive momenta he was building, as he’s a total non-factor in the offensive zone these days. Another guy who attempted zero shots and that’s happened in four of the last five games.

Matt Nieto – D

There were a few bursts from Nieto in this one, but nothing totally sustained. I liked him on the PK, including a rush up the ice where he just ate it down low and killed some time.

Mikko Rantanen – D

His linemates looked really good. Mikko, on the other hand, looked a little bit like the passenger. The one play that stood out was when Khudobin had lost his stick towards the end of the game, and instead of holding on for the right play, he just wristed it right into Khudobin’s belly. He’s picking up points, but the on-ice play isn’t there to match.

Nikita Zadorov – F

I barely noticed Z in the first, which was not bad considering how that period went. After that, he was very noticeable, for all the wrong reasons. Burn the tape on that one. The potential EJ injury might have saved him from a scratch, although I think his solid round one might help him there too. Ugly night.