Grades
Avs Grades in Win Over the Sharks
Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.
Jack Johnson : B – My favorite pair this season has been the Johnson and Johnson pair. They have great chemistry together and play smart.
Erik Johnson : B – Copy, paste.
Devon Toews : A – 27 minutes played and all of the critical moments in the last few minutes. He is out there when it matters.
Cale Makar : A+ – Another night…..another stellar goal….can he be blindfolded or something? He looks bored out there.
Val Nichushkin : A – Teams should really stop leaving him in front of the net. He got his 16th and 17th of the season and back to back nights with a goal. He took a puck to the hand and still didn’t miss a beat.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel : C – He took a massive hit early into the game but he popped right up. He needs to grind it out in the corners and keep control of the puck a little bit more.
Alex Newhook : B+ – This was one of the best lines for the Avs in the first period. Newhook was getting the puck off quick and had some good looks. He finished four shots tonight, tied for the team lead.
Logan O’Connor : C – He moved up to second line tonight and had four shot attempts. He definitely add speed to that line. He’s not doing anything that costs the team, which is always nice. No dumb penalties or anything.
Ryan Murray : B- – Back to back strong performances. It seems like it just took him awhile to get comfortable with the team. He had three blocked shots and 17 minutes played.
Nathan MacKinnon : A+ – He doesn’t always have to score for the Avs to be successful. His passing ability is equally impressive. Quick skating and quick hands tonight. Three assists tonight putting him at 66 points in 46 games.
J.T. Compher : B – Playing on a line with Newhook and Strum provide some depth spark. The line sustained great pressure and he was aggressive most of the game.
Josh Manson : C – He looked good on the penalty kill tonight and brought the hits down a notch with two tonight. Looked like he was playing tackle football with that penalty.
Darren Helm : B – This was his best game in awhile and he needed it. He continued his solid play on the penalty kill as well.
Kurtis MacDermid : C – I really don’t understand why anyone would fight him? Every practice I attend, I am shocked at just how big he is.
Nico Sturm B – Not a bad debut. He seemed to have meshed well with Compher and Newhook. He has some speed for a big guy. He played a little over 15 minutes and had a couple of shots.
Nazem Kadri : B – He was WIDE open on his goal. He could have stopped the puck, turned around and then shot it. But I guess a tip will do.
Andre Burakovsky : C– He played 12 minutes tonight and had one shot. Not a lot to talk about.
Mikko Rantanen : A – He has big shots, big hits and generally plays big. Not sure what happened in the final two minutes when he couldn’t get a shot off at the empty net.
Pavel Francouz : B – For the most part, he looked really sharp and focused. There were multiple opportunities for the Sharks back into the game early on. The second goal seemed a little soft and one he would probably like back.