Avalanche Player Grades from win in Seattle

I probably will be a little like Oprah in this one. “You get an A, and you get an A, and you get an A!”

Gabe Landeskog (B) – Well, no A for the captain here, as he went pointless on the game, with one shot on net. But, hey, he was still a +1 and didn’t do anything harmful out there. The Avs, obviously, didn’t need any offense from him tonight.

Mikko Rantanen (B+) – An assist, and a +2 for Mikko. This was a game in which the Avs got by just fine without a lot from the top line.

Logan O’Connor (B-) – No points, a -1 and four PIMs for LOC. But he was hard on the forecheck and drove the net a couple of times.

Valeri Nichushkin (A) – Big Val scored a pretty short-handed goal to make it 2-0 in the first period. He was solid defensively as well. Avs have been much better since he returned to the lineup.

Nazem Kadri (A) – Two assists for the Kadri Man, extending his point streak to eight games. He’s been tremendous all season.

Andre Burakovsky (A) – Burky took two shots on net in the game, and both went in. He’s definitely got his confidence back after a slow start.

Tyson Jost (A) – Finally, some points on the board from No. 17. He had two assists and played well defensively.

Alex Newhook (B) – Newy had an assist and was +2. But the kid has to keep working on his faceoffs. He went 0-for-8 in the dots tonight.

Darren Helm (A-) – The veteran chipped in with an assist. He’s had points in three of the last four games.

Jayson Megna (B-) – I think he’s doing a serviceable job as a fourth-line center, but it would be nice to see him put some numbers up offensively now and then. He’s got one point in 13 games. Won 8-of-16 draws tonight at least.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel (A-) – Scored his first career goal as an Av and skated well in all three zones I thought.

Kiefer Sherwood (B+) – He got an assist, and that’s always a bonus as a fourth-liner.

Cale Makar (X) – A rare X grade from me, for a performance so good it was almost dirty. Scored two goals, added an assist and had six shots, all the while playing flawless defense.

Devon Toews (A) – Another rock-solid game for No. 7. Played nearly 22 minutes and was a +2.

Erik Johnson (A) – Scored a pretty goal off the rush and was solid in his own end. No. 6 has had a good year so far.

Jack Johnson (A-) – You don’t hear too many snickers from any of JJ’s doubters these days. He’s been playing solid, workmanlike hockey for the Avs so far, and that’s what he was like again tonight too.

Sam Girard (B+) – No points tonight for La Tornade, but I thought he was solid with the puck. He’s playing much better after a bad start.

Ryan Murray (A) – Nice, solid game for the veteran, with an assist in nearly 18 minutes.

Darcy Kuemper (B+) – He allowed three late garbage time goals, which took some of the luster off an otherwise solid showing, making 25 saves.