Weekly Grades: Home Cookin’ Edition

9 months ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Tyler Schank/Clarkson Creative/Getty Images


The Avs went 2-0-1, their first winning record since the All Star break! But were they any good? We’re back with the Colorado Avalanche weekly report card! Colorado had its first week without a regulation loss since before the All-Star break – but were they any good?
THE GAMES
Sunday vs Arizona: 4-3 WTuesday vs Vancouver: 3-1 WThursday @ Detroit: 2-1 OTL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bowen Byram:
Byram got aggressive offensively last week, and this week kept that up while shoring up his play in his own end. Bo looked like the version of himself we saw in the Cup run for the first time in two years against the Yotes and Red Wings, and his dip in play against the Canucks didn’t drop down too far.


Big response from MacKinnon to tie game at 3. Now has 33 G, 90 pts on season.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/mH8fHvEfqr— Out Fox Sports (@MarkHolder27) February 19, 2024




That was a fantastic feed made possible because Bo’s skating with the swagger he came into the league with again, and that’s truly a sight for sore eyes – eyes that have watched him make indecisive plays all season and were very ready to see something new. A
STAR WATCH
Nathan MacKinnon: 2 Goals, 2 Assists
Nate isn’t converting at the rate he was before the All-Star break, but his play is back to the level we’ve come to expect now that that hellish Eastern road trip is over. That goal on the Byram feed was a nice follow-up effort to tie a game that the Avs absolutely dominated with him on the ice. MacKinnon was a beast out there, making plays like this:


Nathan MacKinnon is coming through. pic.twitter.com/6cOckkRs0x— Avalanche Forever (@citchmook) February 19, 2024




Simple, brutal, brilliant. He was on that level all week and put up an absurd 30 shots on goal in three games. Not 30 shot attempts, 30 shots ON GOAL. On 42 shot attempts – meaning his not just shooting at a high volume, he’s getting the shots through at a very high rate and they’re just not going in as often as they have been. If he keeps shooting like that, he will start putting up hat tricks again very soon.
That said, his OT woes continued to plague the team. This defensive read was terrible:


PATRICK KANE WITH THE OVERTIME WINNER!#LGRW pic.twitter.com/2wq7mWfq3X— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) February 23, 2024




The team doesn’t switch on defense in overtime because there isn’t anyone to cover the switch in 3-on-3 play – at 5-on-5 a wing would come down off the point to cut off the pass to Kane here, but there isn’t a wing or a point 3-on-3 - and it’s clear Toews was committed to his guy there. 3-on-3 play won’t matter in the playoffs and Nate isn’t to blame for the team not finding a second goal earlier, but this was still bad.
Grade: A-
Cale Makar: 0 points
No points, but unlike last week Cale’s defensive zone work was mostly good and the powerplay looked dangerous with him quarterbacking. Makar’s play looked much improved this week, his underlying stats bounced back after a terrible stretch, and the results should start coming soon if he keeps his play at this level – but he still has higher levels to reach to get back in the Norris conversation.
Grade: C+
MINDING THE NET
Justus Annunen:
Phenomenal in Detroit, and definitely deserved a better result. Alex Lyon at the other end prevented Colorado from giving him more goal support, but Annunen showed up in a major way to stamp his name on the backup job with emphasis. Will he get to keep it? Or will the front office opt to bring in a vet for the playoff run anyway?


Justus Annunen venyy ja venyttää ottelun jatkoajalle! Jatkoajalla kotijoukkueen supertähti Patrick Kane laukoi ratkaisun. pic.twitter.com/7Ex0kEd4K2— NHL Suomi (@NHL_fi) February 23, 2024




After that stop on J.T. Compher, my bet would be on both – Annunen can still be sent to the AHL without passing through waivers so he can be stashed for one more year and brought up to actually play while a cheap veteran handles hotdog duty during Georgiev’s starts. Games like his against Detroit show he’s closer to reaching his NHL potential than ever before. A+
Alexandar Georgiev:
We’re back to goaltending excellence in Colorado, as Georgiev turned a couple of nights' sleep in his own bed into a couple of fantastic starts, shutting down Arizona and then nearly shutting out Vancouver – we haven’t seen him compete on broken plays like this in a while, and it rocked:


Alexandar Georgiev makes a glove save on a chaotic net front scramble by the Canucks#Canucks | #GoAvsGo ️: Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/TYX4BnZJSn— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) February 21, 2024




The defense in front of him dialed up their play a couple of notches after a brutal road trip, but Georgiev did the heavy lifting here – particularly shorthanded as the penalty kill has continued to struggle. A
ROLE PLAYER HONOR ROLL
Jack Johnson: The only Avalanche not named Nathan MacKinnon to put up a point in every game this week, Johnson was fantastic this week. Paired with Byram, the third pair put up the best metrics among defensemen against the Coyotes and Red Wings even though the top pair bounced back from a tough road trip and the second pair was its usual consistent self.


Jack Johnson just says I’m better than all of you. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/8tLdz7mMdt— Adrian Hernandez (@AdoHernandez27) February 19, 2024




The defense is in a great place right now, and JJ finding his stride is a big part of that. Trade rumors this week suggest the Avs are looking to push him into the 7th defenseman spot by bringing in an RHD for the third pair like Chris Tanev, and that’s definitely still a worthwhile consideration for the front office, but Johnson’s play right now would make him one of the top 7th guys in the league. A
DUNCE CAP IN MY DOGHOUSE DUNGEON
Mikko Rantanen: 2 Assists
I’m going to start with the good for Mikko before I get into why he’s in the dungeon. Rantanen put up good underlying metrics this week as the top line has continued to dominate the opposition at home, he helped extend MacKinnon’s home point streak by doubling back to give Nate the puck so he could assist on Artturi Lehkonen’s empty netter against the Canucks, and his pass on this MacKinnon goal was a thing of beauty:


Nathan MacKinnon: Red Wing killer #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/KkM4pSOIuW— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) February 23, 2024




That is all great, and why Rantanen’s overall grade isn’t as bad this week as it has been recently, but Mikko is visibly frustrated right now and he’s hurting the team with penalties and passive play with the puck – particularly on the man advantage.
I was particularly upset with Mikko letting Matt Dumba under his skin in the Arizona game, taking two first-period penalties trying to get back at Dumba for agitating him. On the plus side though, this is the first week in a while no one earned a true failing grade.
Grade: C-
THE REST
Andrew Cogliano: Struggled on the PK, and missed the Red Wings game with an illness. C-
Ross Colton: Loved this finish to kick things off against the Coyotes.


Ross Colton, 1-0 #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/hYEToOf24G— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 18, 2024




His play otherwise was solid but not spectacular. B
Jonathan Drouin: Colorado’s top line is cooking because of Nathan MacKinnon’s brilliance, and JD is the winger doing the most to support him right now. He only tallied one assist, but his underlying metrics are stellar. B
Sam Girard: Had a wonderful clear off the goal line before Georgiev’s spectacular save in that highlight I showed, and is the best part of the PK right now. This rocked:




J.T. Miller basically stinks compared to our boy Sammy G. Unfortunately Sammy got rocked by the Red Wings and put up the worst metrics on the team. B-
Ryan Johansen: Credit where it’s due, Johansen’s two goals against the Canucks are the reason the Avs won that game. Were they both lucky?


Ryan Johansen connects on his second goal of the night. pic.twitter.com/6CJM4NPGn3— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 21, 2024




Certainly yes, but for once Johansen’s effort created the opportunity for himself to get lucky. He was engaged all game and looked the part of an Avalanche center despite his lack of speed. He only managed to do that for one game of the three, however. B-
Joel Kiviranta: Did his best out there. C-
Artturi Lehkonen: Looked great on Colton’s wing opposite Miles Wood, and was effective next to RyJo and Zach Parise when LOC took that spot back. Continues to be excellent in his netfront role even as PP1 has struggled, and his empty netter past Quinn Hughes kept Nate’s home point streak alive. B
Kurtis MacDermid: Played five decent minutes against the Red Wings. C
Josh Manson: Got moderately caved in against the Coyotes but bounced back. B
Logan O’Connor: Great to have him back in Detroit, though he wasn’t able to make much happen offensively. C
Fredrik Olofsson: Managed to create two high-danger scoring chances in his five minutes of ice against Arizona, then gave up two in six minutes against Vancouver, and was scratched last minute due to illness in Detroit. C
Zach Parise: Put up an assist in both the Coyotes and Canucks games, and nearly potted a wraparound in Detroit. Otherwise had little impact. B-
Devon Toews: Netted the winner against the Coyotes!


What a move by MacKinnon to Drouin to Toews! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/FdS6raf7Qs— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) February 19, 2024




Also assisted on RyJo’s first goal against the Canucks and overall bounced back nicely from a brutal stretch of play on the road. B+
Chris Wagner: Looked solid as a fourth-liner all week, and his metrics were strong against the Coyotes and Red Wings. He even took some third-line shifts in Detroit when Bednar demoted Johansen. B
Miles Wood: His setup feed to Colton was wonderful, but otherwise didn’t contribute much offensively. B-
TEAM GRADE FOR THE WEEK
A much better week for the burgundy and blue boys, starting with a hard-fought win against a Coyotes team that always gives them a tough time. Once they tied the game in the second though, the Avs found another level and took the W with an impeccable third period.



They mostly kept that level of play up early on against the Canucks, though that team is too good to truly pin down and the Avs's first dip in play ended in a one-goal deficit. Colorado tied it up, fought off a Canucks pushback, and then took over and took the lead early in the third, and ultimately fended off a Canucks onslaught to survive til they added an empty netter.



Back on the road against Detroit, Colorado finally managed a strong start to go with their usually strong third period, and just couldn’t solve Alex Lyon enough in a game that became a goalie battle with Justus Annunen.



The only true blemish on the Avs week was the continued struggles of the powerplay, but even that looked better this week despite lacking a finish. They’re back on the right track, it seems. B...

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