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…...

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – C- He was really amped up and it showed. That manifested in some good ways but also some bad with him taking another needless penalty, this one in the offensive zone, and it led to a goal against and helped Philadelphia briefly climb back into the game. Justus Annunen – C- Claude Giroux’s goals were bombs. The…...

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – B- He took another penalty but it was completely made-up nonsense. He also scored a goal, the seventh to make it 7-0, so it’s not like I’m giving him tons of credit for that. A fine performance after a mess of a first game. Something to build from. Andre Burakovsky – A+ I’ve always been harder on…...

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – F Is this too harsh for the new guy’s first game? Definitely, but welcome to a team that has expectations and standards. He was a total non-factor in the role in which he started and his biggest problem, taking penalties, showed up as he took the first Avs penalty of the game in which the Canucks used…...

Andre Burakovsky – C Better than his game two nights ago but still not what the Avalanche needs from him. He missed an open net on a backdoor tap-in off a centering feed from MacKinnon. That’s what he needs. Something to build some confidence from, something to go right for him. It didn’t happen tonight and he remains a player…...

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C I’ll be real and admit I didn’t see a lot from that fourth line tonight. Pretty much even in shot share and with only a minute of PK time available, his role was minimized throughout. Andre Burakovsky – B Loved most of his game. Zone entries were a lot cleaner and he was playing with some…...

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C Didn’t love the fourth line today. It wasn’t a bad game, just a pedestrian one. Bellemare was at his best in the faceoff circle, where he won nine of his 13 draws. He was solid on the PK and had a clean breakaway but couldn’t finish. An average night for PEB. Andre Burakovsky – B Didn’t…...

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B- I liked his game. It was completely fine. Jump right from the hop set the tone for the game. That’s what you want from the fourth line. Seriously, though, some production would be nice. No complaints about PEB today. Andre Burakovsky – C- In a game where the Avs were swarming the Wild for about 85%…...

Andre Burakovsky – B The first assist wasn’t too much and benefited on a great play by Saad, but the second assist was a thing of beauty to Compher, threading the needle across the royal road to hit him for an easy goal. We’re now sitting here with him well over a point per game to start his season. Bowen…...