Weekly Grades: MacKinnon Domination Edition

Colorado got rocked in Dallas, then Nate rocked Minnesota – but were they any good?

We’re back with the Colorado Avalanche weekly report card! This week Colorado got bodied versus Dallas, then bodied Minnesota right back. But were they any good?

THE GAMES

Sunday vs Dallas: 7-4 L
Tuesday vs Minnesota: 5-2 W

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Nathan MacKinnon: 3 Goals, 1 Assist

MacKinnon was a dominant force in this one, looking like the only guy on the ice who could actually skate on all three goals he scored. He hit 50 goals for the season on national TV – that should give him a bump in the MVP race.

I mean. Wow. Why use words when there’s that clip?

He didn’t have his legs in Dallas but still managed two assists. That game stunk but Nate wasn’t the reason why. A+

STAR WATCH

Cale Makar: 1 Goal, 2 Assists

Cale’s goal got the Avs the lead after a somewhat difficult 2-2 first period and they never looked back. He was shifty and skilled and set a career high in points at 87. He needed that bounce-back game after a brutal showing in Dallas, where his underlying stats were mid but his PK work was brutal. B+

Valeri Nichushkin: 0 points

Val looked okay but wasn’t able to get on the scoresheet or make much of an on-ice impact in either game. He always starts a little slow when he comes back from injury, so hopefully he’ll get in gear by playoff time. C

Mikko Rantanen: Didn’t play due to an injury, but was practicing and is expected back against Winnipeg on Saturday.

MINDING THE NET

Alexandar Georgiev:

Bednar was quick to point out that the Dallas game was not his fault, actually going as far as saying he liked his game – but six goals against is six goals against. The effort in Minnesota was better, and the team in front of him made it ridiculously easy after leaving him out to dry in Texas. Georgiev has a lot to prove going forward. C+

ROLE PLAYER HONOR ROLL

Jack Johnson: The Dallas game was not good – the defense corps made mistakes all over the ice and gave Georgiev very little support, but not Jack Johnson. He led all blueliners in every relevant underlying statistic and was one of the very few players to appear to have his legs underneath him. He followed that up with an average night in Minnesota, back to his usual JJ self.

He’s so steady – he played the same game while the team was struggling in Dallas and while Nate was putting on a show in Minnesota. That’s what he’s here to do, and he deserves credit for it. B+

DUNCE CAP IN MY DOGHOUSE DUNGEON

Chris Wagner: Call it unfair since he barely played, but taking a holding penalty while the Minnesota game was still close got him benched and sent down to the AHL. He also posted brutal underlying stats in both games, lost faceoffs on the regular, and participated in a powerplay that gave up goals on 5 straight chances.

Bednar doghoused him, and so will I. D

THE REST

Andrew Cogliano: Terrible metrics in Minnesota, and a bad showing on the PK in Dallas. Surprisingly good numbers at even strength against the Stars though. C-

Ross Colton: His effort to play the body more has been noticeable, and his metrics were above team average in both games. B

Brandon Duhaime: Posted some of the best metrics on the team in Minnesota, and put up a goal and an assist in Dallas. B+

Jonathan Drouin: Another multi-point effort in Minnesota after leading the team in underlying statistics in Dallas.

Oh yeah, and that beauty. A

Sam Girard: Middle of the pack in the stats, but he looked bad against Dallas. Real bad. C-

Artturi Lehkonen: Great underlying stats in both games as part of the top line, plus two goals and an assist. A-

Joel Kiviranta: Got caved in a bit at evens and struggled on the powerplay. C-

Josh Manson: Copy and paste the Girard section, but add in some hits. C

Casey Mittlestadt: Dallas was his worst game as an Av despite notching an assist, but he bounced back strong in Minnesota. C+

Zach Parise: Brutal underlying stats in both games. D

Yakov Trenin: Was one of the worst players on the ice in Minnesota after a decent effort vs. Dallas. C-

Sean Walker: The ice tilted against Colorado whenever Walker was on it this week. D

TEAM GRADE

The worst game of the season, followed by a dominant effort? Maybe. The Dallas game wasn’t as bad as it looked, actually, because at even strength the Avs were often in control of play.

They didn’t translate that to goals and gave up way too many chances against – particularly shorthanded where the entire PK system seemed to fall apart over and over again. Had they played that same game with a little more rest and a healthy Mikko Rantanen, I suspect the results would have been significantly better. That is, of course, not how life works – they earned the loss and can’t go back and change that.

Minnesota was a stronger showing overall, though it was mostly MacKinnon making slow defenders look even slower than they are. With him off the ice, Colorado wasn’t particularly dangerous offensively – but they did shut Minnesota down completely, giving up just eight even-strength shots and one high danger chance. That’s insane. That’s so good. B+