Avs Game 6 Grades: Bouncing back in Vegas

Bowen Byram – A-

This is getting to be a little easy to grade, as he’s pretty consistently been the Avs best defender. Another strong game, and without Toews, is showing he can handle some PK duty as well with a nice sliding save in the second period. Some riskier plays in the third but another good game.

Andrew Cogliano – D

He was visibly frustrated with himself after the Golden Knights first goal because he went to cover the backdoor pass…and then backed off for some reason.

J.T. Compher – C

Great screen on the Rodrigues goal, and nearly got his first of the year when he slid one through Thompson, only for it to hit the post on the other end. For the most part, that line didn’t create a ton of chances and his best offensive play of the night was a nice sauce pass to Nuke in the slot for a good look. Penalty in the third was not ideal but Avs held strong on the PK.

Alexander Georgiev – B+

Great game, and had some big-time flashy saves too, including a breakaway stop on the opening shift. Made another great save on Stone moments later before the Avs got their legs going. He seems to embrace the chaos and controlled himself late as Vegas pushed late in the game.

Samuel Girard – B-

Some bad luck with his stick getting caught in the boards on the second Vegas goal. Avs controlled a good bit of play with him on the ice. Seems to be a little better distributing on the power play from up top rather than the wall, because he now has two shooting options on either side instead of just one.

Dryden Hunt – B

He comes as advertised, hitting everything in sight. Really liked him in the first and second but didn’t see him much in the third.

Erik Johnson – D

Easiest assist he’ll ever get, tapping it to Nuke before he went coast to coast. The only defenseman below 50% in shot share, and he was quite a bit below that mark. Every defenseman other than Girard had worse numbers with him than without.

Martin Kaut – B

Had a good look in the second period off a bouncing puck but hit the side of the net. Liked him and Hunt on the forecheck, with Hunt playing the physical role and Kaut just doing what he can to eat the puck along the boards. They aren’t asking for much more from that line at the moment.

Artturi Lehkonen – C

Great work on the powerplay goal by MacKinnon to not let Stone clear the puck. Beyond that, left wanting a little bit more offensively, as he’s definitely slowed down after the opening week. Didn’t register an even-strength shot on net.

Jacob MacDonald – B-

A significantly better option than MacDermid in that seventh defenseman role, as he can skate and move the puck out of his own end. Didn’t notice any glaring errors, and he was trusted to play over 10 minutes, which they typically don’t do with MacDermid.

Nathan MacKinnon – A-

He’s trying to shoot the puck through nets this season. One time bomb in the first, and tried to do it again a few times later. Had some truly dominating shifts in the first and second period before the Avs sat back a bit in the third.

Cale Makar – B-

The puck fumbles are still there and not sure what the cause of them is, but he’s still not all the way there. Had three really good looks in the first that led to Vegas taking a penalty that the Avs did score on.

Josh Manson – C-

The Manson/EJ combo is just not having a good time on the penalty kill and a lot of it is because they both tend to drift out of position a bit. Manson chasing a guy all the way from the zone entry to the boards on the other side on the first Vegas goal was a bit much. Had a real slick play to stop a zone entry on an odd-man rush in the first. It was super risky as he slid down to the ice because if he missed, Vegas had clear numbers.

Jayson Megna – D

Somehow his numbers were way worse than Hunt or Kaut. Got stuck on the ice a bit too long on some shifts that led to them getting hemmed in a bit.

Alex Newhook – B–

Still no points, but the process is getting a lot better. That line spent a lot of time in the offensive zone in the first period and he looks much better the last two games than he did the first four. Did get caught looking on the second Vegas goal.

Valeri Nichushkin – A

Apparently last season wasn’t a fluke at all offensively. Incredible end-to-end rush, and he had plenty of good looks the rest of the night as well, with Thompson making most of his best saves on the big Russian. Finished the game with a crazy 10 shot attempts at even strength.

Logan O’Connor – C-

There is next to no offense coming from him so far this season, but at least wasn’t beat up on the penalty kill. His passing has not been great through six games.

Mikko Rantanen – B-

I could go either way on the penalty called on him in the first period. He did whack down pretty hard on the Vegas player’s stick, but it was stick-on-stick and not hands. Had some dominant shifts, like MacKinnon, in the first and second, but seemed to struggle a bit in the defensive zone.

Evan Rodrigues – B

Pretty quiet game for the most part at even strength, but huge goal on the power play and that actually earned him a few shifts up with the top line. He went in for x-rays last week and missed some shifts in the third period, so something to keep an eye on moving forward.