Avs/Stars Game 3 Grades: Gut Check

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B-

The Avs PK had some high-effort shifts, led in part by Bellemare with some key face-off wins and some diving clears to get the puck out and get a line change.

Andre Burakovsky – A

I loved everything about Burakovsky’s game. He was moving his feet, carrying the puck with confidence, and most importantly, letting the puck rip. The secondary scoring looks way more dangerous when he’s willing to just let shots go.

Ian Cole – C-

This is a tough grade. Cole, to my eyes, looked bad for two periods and spent a lot of time in his own end. In the third, you could tell he was gassed, including when he overskated the puck and looked visibly frustrated. But as much as he struggled…you have to admire the effort, and his best moments were in the last five minutes.

Kevin Connauton – D

This was a little more of what I was worried about. Connauton in the offensive zone is fine, but in the defensive zone, it’s a bit of an adventure. He took some penalties in this one, had the turnover prior to the third goal behind his own net, but nice work shooting for a tip on the game-winning goal.

J.T. Compher – C

Like a lot of the bottom six, Compher showed some signs of life in this one. He dominated in the face-off circle, and nearly had a shorthanded break just by using his speed.

Pavel Francouz – C-

Another tough one to grade. He made some incredible saves, particularly on the penalty kill to start the third period, before giving up a few goals that seemed a little…leaky. He was really good through the first two periods and just had a tough ten minutes, but luckily, his teammates bailed him out.

Samuel Girard – B-

His passing still looks off, but another guy who battled through what maybe wasn’t his best game to help the Avs win an ugly one. He gets the “+” for the cross-check to Benn that knocked him over in the third. Love to see it.

Ryan Graves – B-

Graves had really struggled to start the series and even started the game on the third pairing. Cole’s struggles coupled with Graves looking better upped his ice time, and he battled all night long. Tough icing right before the fourth Dallas goal, but he ate some heavy minutes for the Avs.

Tyson Jost – C+

Jost looks undersized compared to most guys in this series, but he didn’t shy away from anything in game three, finishing with seven hits, and looking pretty decent on the penalty kill.

Nazem Kadri – A

A Kadri face-off win leading to a goal seems to happen every five games or so. It happened in the second period tonight and helped the Avs get some mojo. He was physically engaged all night, including a big hit on Hintz, and another goal right in front of the net. Another game-winner, too.

Gabriel Landeskog – B-

That penalty in the third period…I get what he’s trying to do. Benn took a clear run at MacKinnon and Landy wanted to stand up for his star player, but you have to understand the situation in the game. Other than that, Landy helped set the tone physically for his team and just plain outworked Heiskanen for the Avs third goal.

Nathan MacKinnon – A

What more can be said at this point? Even when he seems to have a “quieter” game than the first two, he still picks up two assists, including a dime to Rantanen to tie the game in the third.

Cale Makar – A+

The superstar talent showed up in this one. Forget the shimmy leading to Landeskog’s goal, I loved the one-touch pass to Burakovsky on the second goal. If Makar corrals that and waits even a second, it takes away some of Burky’s time. Instead, one-touching it gave him all the room in the world to walk in.

Vladislav Namestnikov – D

I believe he hit the post in the second period towards the end of the period, but then wasted any good he did in this one with his terrible penalty to end the second. That’s just undisciplined, dumb hockey and will only hurt your team.

Valeri Nichushkin – C

Another decent game from Nuke, where he played more physical than we’re used to seeing him do. That’s something the Avs probably need more of given the way this series is going. A little ugly on the Comeau goal, though, with poor puck control.

Matt Nieto – C

Had some flubs clearing the puck in the second period on the penalty kill, but loved his effort in the third period trying to create a forecheck and cause some havoc for the Stars defenders.

Logan O’Connor – A

Sure, he didn’t play a ton, and he didn’t end up with so much as a shot on goal, but O’Connor did exactly what they needed him to do. He forechecked hard, played physical, and created problems with his speed. That’ll keep you in the lineup.

Mikko Rantanen – B

The one-timer that has been completely off in the bubble showed up in a big way in the third period. That’s just high hockey IQ from a very talented player to give the puck to his star center and immediately realize he’s got to open up for the shot. We may look back at that goal in a big way if the Avs can come back to win this series.

Nikita Zadorov – A

Normally I’d give a player who played half the game an “INC”, but Z had a huge impact on the ice, and apparently off it as well. He was their best defenseman before going down and stepped up to the challenge of getting a bigger role. Even ignoring what he did on the ice, coach Bednar said after the game that Z helped keep the energy up on the bench in the third period when they needed it. Need him healthy for Game 4.