Avs-Sabres grades: Smoke show

Mikko Rantanen (A) – I thought Mikko was excellent. That was a classic wait-him-out Mikko patience goal there in the third, on the PP. Mikko made Carter Hutton commit with his patience, then went top cookies. He became the third Avs player to hit the 30-goal mark, the first time that’s happened since 1995-96 (Forsberg, Sakic, Lemieux).

Nathan MacKinnon (X) – Such a great goal he scored. Go back and watch it. He gets cross-checked from behind by Jack Eichel, gets back on his feet, still with possession of the puck, goes around a defender at the blue line and beats Carter Hutton top shelf from 30 feet. Might have been his best goal of the year. Also assisted on Mikko’s goal and on the empty-netter.

He gets the fourth X grade I’ve ever given out – a game so good it was filthy.

Derick Brassard (A-) – I thought Brasser was real good in his first game on a line, at left wing, with MacK. Had the puck a lot and he wasn’t shy in shooting it. Good defensively too. This is why the Avs got him at the deadline. He set a great screen on Rantanen’s goal that made it 2-0. That’s what he does. He goes to the net.

Carl Soderberg (A-) – Too bad he took a dirty hit from Jack Eichel, a blindside hit to the head that might earn the Sabres captain a suspension. Good thing was, he got back up and played like Carl does – hard and tough and at both ends.

J.T. Compher (A-) – He played a pain-in-the-arse game, always getting into it with some Sabre. I thought that helped get Sabres forwards off their game a bit. When you’re thinking more about getting even with a guy instead of playing hockey, you’ve already lost.

Alexander Kerfoot (B+) – He made some nice passes today and skated well. Had a good day in the faceoff dot too. He needs to score some goals down the stretch, though, to take some heat off the top guys, especially with Landy out.

Matt Calvert (B+) – Good game for Calvy. He was just tough around the net and on the forecheck.

Gabriel Bourque (A) – He scored! He scored! Hey, an empty-netter, but the man scored. His first of the season, in his 42nd game.

Sven Andrighetto (A-) – Like a lot of Avs, had excellent puck-possession numbers (9 Corsi for, 1 against). Yeah, it would be nice if he could find the scoring touch again, but baby steps.

Colin Wilson (B) – Strong Corsi numbers, but not much when it came to offensive chances, etc.

Andrew Agozzino (B) – Kind of the same thing I just said about Wilson. Only played 7:52 though. He did fine considering.

Tyson Jost (B) – He kicked a puck backward that led to a breakaway the other way. Fortunately for him, he was bailed out by Grubauer. It was a bad pass by Sam Girard before the kick, but Jost needs to be smarter there. Otherwise, he was good.

Nikita Zadorov (A) – Had monster Corsi numbers (23 for, 9 against). He single-handedly turned the game into a chippy affair with a big hit on Jack Eichel in the first period. It was a late hit, for sure, but it changed the complexion of the game in a good way for the Avs I think. Well, but here’s the thing: that might earn him a suspension too. We’ll see.

Erik Johnson (A) – Just like I advocated in a column yesterday, EJ played a much more offensive game, jumping into the play a lot more than before. He had four shots on goal, the most he’s had in a game since Feb. 12.

Sam Girard (A-) – Strong game I thought, even though he passed up a couple of good scoring chances for the extra pass.

Tyson Barrie (A-) – A frustrating day for him personally in a sense, getting robbed a couple times on chances. But his Corsi was 22-8. Strong game.

Ian Cole (B+) – Mostly solid game by a veteran D-man. He was part of an Avs core that gave Buffalo next to nothing today.

Patrik Nemeth (B+) – Ibid.

Philipp Grubauer (A) – I mean, he could have played the game in a recliner, but don’t forget about that breakaway save on Sam Reinhart when it was a scoreless game. It was his second shutout in the last three starts. Does he maybe get the next start, against Carolina? He was awesome against the Bunch of Jerks in Carolina earlier this year.