Avs/Stars Game 2 Grades: What happened?

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C-

The fourth line was okay. They looked better with Nichushkin on it than it did with Namestnikov. Bellemare, unfortunately, lost the face-off right before the Pavelski power-play goal that changed the game.

Andre Burakovsky – F

Burakovsky is a shooter who had the most inopportune times refuses to shoot the puck. His pass to Compher in the third period on the power play when he had a wide-open lane on his was the nail in the coffin for me. Know your strengths, man.

Ian Cole – D

I don’t really care if Pavelski dove. Of course he did. That’s what he does. A veteran like Cole should know that. This wasn’t some battle in front of the net. It was Pavelski standing there alone, off to the side of Francouz, and Cole cross-checked him. It was unnecessary and that put his team in a bad position. Ultimately, that call helped change the game.

Kevin Connauton – C+

I really didn’t mind Connauton in his playoff debut. He didn’t hurt the team in any way, but him leading the team in shot attempts at even strength is infuriating and some of his shot attempts were brutal decisions, including a low angle one-timer with the extra attacker. Other than that, he was fine.

J.T. Compher – F

The JTC that showed up in round one and in the Round Robin has yet to make any sort of appearance in this series. His line has been a complete non-factor since the puck dropped on Saturday and that has to change. His best chance was a flukey bouncing puck at the end of the second that he couldn’t bury. His only shot attempt at even strength.

Joonas Donskoi – D

Donskoi did some things right in Game 2. He’s drawing penalties, moving the puck forward, but none of it ends up being dangerous. You can tell he has no real faith in his shot, and it came into play when he fumbled the puck on the Stars’ fourth goal.

Pavel Francouz – D

That third goal was flukey. No way around it. The fourth one, I really have no clue what the ref was doing behind the net calling that a goal, but I also don’t know how Franky even ended up in that position. Way too scrambly on that second goal.

Samuel Girard – C-

Girard looked gassed at times in Game 2. I loved his first period, he was moving his feet and causing problems for the Stars forecheckers. The penalty call on him was really weak, and that surely played a big role in this one. His shot selection drives me crazy, however. He’s not afraid to let a shot go from the blue line, but when he walks in and has a lane, he looks to pass first, and that’s what happened on Stars’ goal. One too many passes.

Ryan Graves – F

I think the Stars have caught on that Graves is going to let it rip without even looking to pass in the offensive zone. They were ready to block any shot he wanted to let loose. He bit a little on the 5 on 3 goal with the wrong passing lane and then was slow to get back and help Zadorov on his own against three Stars forwards on the second goal.

Tyson Jost – D

Once again, Jost was okay. Not super noticeable, and barely played. That line, once again, did nothing at even strength and is just a collection of random players at this point.

Nazem Kadri – D

Wow do the Avs need a lot more from this second line, and I’m fully ready to get Landy back on that line. This is not sustainable. MacKinnon’s line is doing everything and the second line has to pick up the slack a little bit.

Gabriel Landeskog – C

I liked Landeskog a lot more in Game one than in game two. A few too many turnovers from him carrying the puck out of the zone. That being said, the top line is far from the problem. The question is…does Bednar keep them together?

Nathan MacKinnon – A+

What more do you want this guy to do? He’s trying to put this team on his back, and will this team to victory. The effort in the defensive zone is like nothing we’ve seen from him before. He’s making that case that he’s the best player in the world.

Cale Makar – C

Makar was fine. The Stars are doing everything they can to hit him any time the puck comes near him. I loved the subtle play on the MacKinnon goal to keep the puck in and softly pass it off the boards to him under pressure. Seeing him play 16 minutes of five on five time with zero shot attempts is frustrating, and he’s the one guy on the blueline you want to see ripping it.

Vladislav Namestnikov – F

What a non-factor he has been since the start of round one. He looks timid and afraid to make a play. A Calvert swap, if healthy, would be a low-key nice upgrade.

Valeri Nichushkin – C

Nuke was better, and a better fit on the fourth line than Namestnikov. He showed a few signs of life offensively, at least putting some pucks towards the net, and hopefully that gets him going a little bit.

Matt Nieto – D

The only player on the team that ends the game with zero shot attempts. That says about all there is to know.

Mikko Rantanen – B-

Mikko showed some real signs of life, in my opinion. His one-timer is still hilariously bad, missing a few chances way wide, but there were some good things from him. He nearly scored right before MacKinnon’s goal and then delivered a dirty sauce pass to the big man. His goal in the second period is not an easy play to pull off. Next step will be even-strength production.

Nikita Zadorov – C-

Other than going for a big hit and missing, I barely noticed Z in this one. After the last game, that’s a huge improvement.