Despite Cale Makar being a transcendent talent and great play out Devon Toews and at times Bowen Byram, the Avs defense wasn’t enough to get them out of the first round, but was it their fault? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La3EqjxW6NM
The Best players in the Avs forward core gave a valiant effort all season, at times dragging this team to victory. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen led the way, Val Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen found their place, but when it came time for the playoffs the second lind had problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M1KXCC9kl8
Even the goalie position couldn’t escape the wrath of injuries for Colorado this season, However, for the most part, the Avs look smart for taking a risk on Georgiev as their starter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UunM2vfivQc
For another blown loss, the Colorado Avalanche have some legitimate studs to talk up in this one. Byram, MacKinnon, and Hunt all did what they needed to do to win this game. Unfortunately, the second line and Kurtis MacDermid were just too heavy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDr1wE4Owb4
Andrew Cogliano – D+ He scored a goal and that was great, but it was an incredibly soft one that shouldn’t beat an NHL goaltender. It was Cogliano’s penalty that Brad Hunt kept from happening with the weird interference call. Lazy feet in the neutral zone helped create the mess that was LA’s fourth goal. Hard to believe Cogliano would…
Andrew Cogliano – D He was back to being the warrior we have become accustomed to seeing since his arrival, but he just wasn’t very effective tonight. His line didn’t do much offensively and had the rare bad night defensively. J.T. Compher – C This is one of those games where Compher treaded water as a 1C but also was…
Anton Blidh – C Against his former team, you’d have thought there might have been something a little extra in the tank. That wasn’t really the case. One of the few games I didn’t think he actively held his line back. Andrew Cogliano – C+ Scored his first goal of the season which actually involved him shooting the puck. I…
Dryden Hunt – INC We’ve always said in this space that we aren’t grading guys when they play under five minutes. Hunt got to Denver about 3 AM and had a short video session and one morning skate to figure it all out. It’s no wonder he only played 4:27. Bowen Byram – A- Defensively, Byram was very good in…...
Nicolas Aube-Kubel – B My problem with NAK has too often been his biggest contribution being in the first period and then he just does nothing. Not the case tonight. I really liked his game throughout and his physicality showed why he is a legitimate option for the lineup in the postseason. He can handle that kind of game. Andre…...
Nicolas Aube-Kubel – D I don’t really have much on NAK tonight. It was a quiet night but when you spend the entire game in your own zone defending, it’s tough to make too much of a mark, I suppose. Andre Burakovsky – C I really liked Burakovsky last night but tonight was really all the bad stuff in his…...
Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C- Giving him the slight bump for his goal despite it being as lucky as it was. He seems to do all of his damage early in games and then totally disappear. Some of that is usage, of course, but it’s interesting the way he fades during games. Andre Burakovsky – A A goal and an assist.…...
Darcy Kuemper – INC Never got a chance to really get into the game despite playing into the second period. He was doing okay even with the first goal against but then Greenway smoked him and the concussion protocol took place. Just hope he’s okay. Pavel Francouz – A It’s hard for a goalie to come in cold to a…...
Darcy Kuemper – A+ He didn’t have a lot to do but he got his first shutout as an Av. Why even bother trying to nitpick this? Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C+ Did his job just fine but didn’t stand out in any kind of way. A solid night for NAK but just that. Andre Burakovsky – B+ Big steal led…...
Pavel Francouz – B Another solid outing for Francouz, but the second goal was just downright bad. Against a team that is desperate for offense, giving them a freebie helped create a big hill to climb. Once the team in front of him climbed it, however, Francouz slammed the door shut with some great saves late. Nicolas Aube-Kubel – A+…...
Darcy Kuemper – INC I certainly haven’t been easy on Kuemper this year but I don’t know how you can really look at any of those goals and say they were Kuemper’s fault. His pulling was more about changing the momentum in the game and trying to kickstart the team than anything else. I’m not bagging on Kuemper for this…...
Pavel Francouz – B This is a soft grade for Frankie given the goals that got by him weren’t of the highest caliber, but there was an own goal mixed in there and he played well enough to have them at 3-2 going into the final 10 minutes of the game. The PK continues to give up a ton of…...
Darcy Kuemper – B+ I said on the pod he was getting a B, but in retrospect I just thought he was too good tonight to crush him for the second goal. I hated the rebound and the extreme panic response that followed and took him out of contention for making the second save, but the rest of his game…...
Darcy Kuemper – A This was absolutely what Colorado envisioned in the offseason trade to acquire Kuemper. The second goal was the all-too-familiar goal below his blocker where he’s repeatedly been beaten this season but none of them were laughers and he shut the door at the end…with a little assistance from Erik Johnson. Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C An interesting…...
Darcy Kuemper – B Kind of weird game to grade. Kuemper’s best work came with the score out of hand, but it stayed there because of his best work. Of course, it only got close because of his worst work, which was that second Detroit goal that absolutely cannot happen. He’s just given up too many of those this year…...
Nicolas Aube-Kubel – B He brought a physical presence, didn’t take a penalty, was fine in shot metrics and tallied an assist. Exactly what more could you be asking for from NAK? Darcy Kuemper – B- The first goal is off the skate of his own player, the second off his own face, and the third beat him cleanly but…...
Broncos
Avalanche
Nuggets
Rockies
Buffs
Rams
Rapids
Rugby
DNVR Golf