Avs Grades in Win Over Blues

You don’t get out without singin’ the blues

Bowen Byram : B – He seemed to get better as the game went along like he was feeding off the energy.

Erik Johnson : A – I liked his play offensively and defensively. This was a really good bounce-back game for everyone as it ended the losing streak.

Devon Toews : A – Not saying he’s the missing link but…..he’s the missing link. I hope he feels rested because it’s go time. 

Cale Makar : B- –  A quiet night compared to normal. 20 plus minutes played, plus two and three hits. Hope he can turn it around…kidding.

Andrew Cogliano : B- – Really impressive on the penalty kill again. He kept the pressure on and cleared the puck when needed.

Valeri Nichushkin : A+ – Best season of his career. Hopefully, it carries over into the postseason because he will be a difference-maker. 

Nicolas Aube-Kubel : C+ –  He was tied for the team lead in hits (4) and played over 13 minutes. I’ll take it. 

Alex Newhook : A – 20 apples for the season. He’s played well through the losing streak and it’s nice to see him rewarded. He also was 5-0 in the faceoff dot. 

Logan O’Connor : C+ – Avs snap their streak and looked like their dominant selves. Everyone gets a good grade! 

Nathan MacKinnon : B+ –  A plus three and an assist. He now has 88 points on the season, behind only Rantanen who has 91.

J.T. Compher : B+ –  He has himself a nice four-game point streak going right now. He was also a plus three tonight.

Josh Manson : A – He NEEDED this type of game. I loved his shot from the point and hopefully we see more of those shot selections come playoffs. 

Darren Helm : C – Nothing crazy or impactful but hey! You win as a team and you lose as a team.

Sam Girard : B – Another defensemen who needed a strong performance. He had an assist and over 18 minutes played. Keep. It. Going.

Attruri Lehkonen : B+ – He is a prime example of hard work paying off. He hustles to the net and keeps the pressure on with every shift. 

Nico Sturm : C – Struggled in the faceoff dot tonight going 2-4. He played a little under 10 minutes.

Nazem Kadri : B – It would be nice to see him catch fire again before the regular season ends. He’s not playing horrible but we are missing that energy. An empty-net goal is a good start. 

Andre Burakovsky : C – He missed the net a few times tonight but also blocked three shots. 

Darcy Kuemper: B- – It’s just been an odd couple of games. There has been a fluke/random/incredible play that has happened in almost all of them. Tonight, O’Reilly’s 2nd goal of the game had me fooled! What a play. At the end of the night he faced 31 shots and let three in. More importantly, he got the W in a third period that could have been a meltdown.