Avs/Stars Game 4 Grades: On the brink

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – D

Bellemare’s line was fine at even strength in terms of numbers. His penalty kill work, however, was less than ideal, as he was out there for all three of Dallas’ power play goals. He even managed to toss in a penalty of his own.

Andre Burakovsky – D

Burky picked up a couple of assists on both Nichushkin’s goals, but his awful pass to Kadri led to Kadri taking the high sticking penalty that made the game 3-0. The Avs had zero shots on goal at that time, and instead of firing the puck, Burky made a brutal pass. He’s a frustrating player to watch.

Ian Cole – C-

Did not notice Cole a whole lot in this one. He was out there for one of the Dallas PP goals but not sure he really did anything wrong there. His on-ice numbers were fine.

Kevin Connauton – F

There’s no reason to play him in Game 5. Let’s see what one of the young guys can do. That’s now three penalties in the last two games, and this one was atrocious, as the Avs had the puck and the puck was nowhere near Perry in front.

J.T. Compher – F

Compher has completely ghosted this series. One shot attempt in four games at 5 on 5 is just simply not good enough for a guy who is making a good chunk of change. That line has been really disappointing overall, but they’re getting nothing from him up the middle.

Pavel Francouz – F

The Avs were awful from the start of the game. There’s no way around that. But when your team very clearly comes out sloppy, you need to be there for them, and instead, Francouz couldn’t even handle a floater from the point. Just an ugly game from him, and due to the guy behind him, the Avs have no choice but to throw him back out there in Game 5.

Samuel Girard – C-

Yes, he picked up a few assists on the two late goals, but his overall game isn’t there. The Stars have made his life miserable from game one on, and he’s looked a little flustered. He’s doing a lot of skating but not accomplishing a whole lot.

Ryan Graves – D-

Plays are just dying on his stick in the offensive zone. The luck he was carrying in the regular season hasn’t carried over offensively in the postseason, and he’s been exposed a bit. Most of the defense has, though.

Tyson Jost – D

Jost was fine most of the night, but took the penalty that ultimately killed any comeback opportunity for the Avs. The sad thing is…that was the FOURTH offensive zone penalty the Avs took in this game.

Nazem Kadri – F

Kadri was off his game in this one, and has been most of the series. They didn’t really show the first penalty on any replay, but the second one was clear as day, and outside of some life in game three, the offense hasn’t been there.

Gabriel Landeskog – D

Had a good chance in the second driving the puck to the net, only to lose it at the last second, but that entire line kind of ghosted this game in general. The power play, outside of the 5 on 3, was atrocious. A few failed entries that he usually nails.

Nathan MacKinnon – D

Arguably his worst game in the postseason, but still managed to pick up a point. Lots of stuff from the outside and considering how willing he has been to just wire the puck at the net this series, it was surprising to see him pass up some shots in game four.

Cale Makar – B

The fumble of the puck on the fifth goal has sadly happened to some really good players. Beyond that, Makar was the Avs most dangerous player but an unfortunate drop in concentration led to the ultimate game-winner.

Vladislav Namestnikov – F

This guy ghosted since the start of the Coyotes series. He’s only been noticeable taking bad penalties as he did again tonight. He scored with zero time left, but what a disappointment after looking so good after the trade deadline.

Valeri Nichushkin – B+

Nuke was due to provide some offense, and it was nice to see him get one in front of the net. I wish I could give him more credit for that second goal, but that’s the ultimate fluke goal. At least he shot the puck, which is something he wasn’t doing in the Coyotes series.

Matt Nieto – C

The ultimate Nieto game where you don’t notice him a whole lot. Made a nice pass to Bellemare for a mini breakaway early in the second period, but not a whole lot to see from then on.

Logan O’Connor – C-

This has kind of been O’Connor’s thing in his NHL callups. He looks great the first game, and then kind of flames out. The Stars seemed a little more prepared for him tonight, including his chip and chase, which they snuffed out a few times.

Mikko Rantanen – F

Rantanen has racked up an absurd amount of points for doing the bare minimum all playoffs long. What a disappointing run for him. We’ll look back at the points and say some good things, but he has not looked anywhere near the impact player the Avs need him to be.

Nikita Zadorov – D

Z was fine, but fine was not good enough, as the Avs defense is struggling mightily and needs everyone to be a whole lot better. Probably his least physical game, which maybe shouldn’t be a surprise after he missed the last half of the game prior.