Erik Johnson – A

EJ showed tonight he’s still got some offensive goods if he chooses to use them. He gave Watson the old shimmy before going around him and having Donskoi deflect his shot into the net. The first two assists of the season for EJ in this one.

Cale Makar – A+

Someone had to set the tone for the Avs in this one, and it was Makar on the opening shift. Great patience by him to wait and create a lane before putting a wrist shot through traffic into the net. He proceeded to pick up two more assists on the evening and was launching the puck at the net every time he had a chance.

Matt Calvert – A

In a game where the Avs flat out dominated, Calvert was his usual hard-working self and scored the most Calvert goal ever, falling to the ice and putting it through the goalie’s legs after winning a battle in front. He cannot be stopped this year.

Valeri Nichushkin – B

At this point, I’m just starting to feel bad for him because he’s played well and had his chances tonight, including a rush late that could have given the Avs double digits on the evening, but he’s the only guy that can’t beat the goaltender. If it was ever going to happen, it was going to be tonight.

Nikita Zadorov – A

Before Z got hurt, the Avs were dominating with him on the ice, as they were +11/-1 with him out there. He threw a big hit on Watson late in the first to fire up the crowd, but took a puck to the head in the second period and did not return. He laid on the ice for a while, and a trainer even jumped out there to help him, but the refs didn’t feel it was necessary to blow the play dead. With all the focus on head injuries in the game, the refs allowing the play to continue is unacceptable. You just hope Z is not hurt too bad.

Tyson Jost – B

Jost picked up his first point since his Hat Trick game, so hopefully that will get him sparked offensively moving forward. He didn’t have a standout game by any means, but the Avs had plenty of standouts in this one to make up for it.

Ryan Graves – A

Graves got promoted to a pair with Makar and they wasted no time pinning the Preds in their own end on the first shift. Three points for Graves in this one and some really solid play. His only blunder was an icing that led to the first Nashville goal of the game.

Nathan MacKinnon – A+

The Avs needed a hero in this one, and MacKinnon was just that. He had 10 shot attempts after the first period and finished with four points in just two periods of play. It was exactly what the team needed from him and he answered the call. He may have sat out the third period because his back was sore from putting the team on it.

T.J. Tynan – B+

Clearly the Avs’ good luck charm. Tynan didn’t look all that out of place in this one and got some good ice time to show some of his skill off. Congrats to him on picking up his first NHL point on Donskoi’s hat trick goal.

J.T. Compher – B+

I have gotten on Compher in past seasons for not looking like much of a playmaker, but he’s made some dandy passes this season, and his pass to Nieto for the shorthanded goal was perfect. He made a great play at the blueline in his own end to create the rush in the first place.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B

Bellemare was one of five skaters to not register a point in this one, and that’s fine because he’s already exceeded all point expectations I had for him early in the year. He went 60% in the face-off circle in this one.

Mark Barberio – C

Barbs got into the lineup in place of Ian Cole tonight and decided he needed to take the role of penalty box fill in with two penalties on the evening. It’s hard to rag on anyone in a game like this but he didn’t do anything to stand out.

Samuel Girard – B

I feel bad for Sammy because he was one of the few guys to not register a point, but he’s in a bit of a rut right now offensively. Although the game was well out of hand by then, it was great to see him be aggressive taking the puck to the net late in the third when he created his own chance.

Joonas Donskoi – A+

Hard to beat a hat trick, and he did it by scoring in more ways than one. The first one was some nice work in front of the net battling for position, the second was a nice deflection, and the third one was pure skill, skating through the entire Predators team for the hat trick. He’s over halfway to his goal total from last season already.

Vladislav Kamenev – B

Fantastic play by Kamenev to show some patience, and bank the puck off the boards perfectly on Burakovsky’s goal. He showed some high hockey IQ in the second period on a power play as well, helping keep the puck in for a few more chances. Points in two straight for the Russian who had no luck the last two years.

Matt Nieto – A

Another two-point game from Nieto, as he picked up a point on the opening goal and played a big role in setting the tone. His shorthanded goal, it didn’t even look like the puck hit the ice when he smacked it into the net. That’s some skill right there.

Nazem Kadri – B

Kadri looked like he wanted to get in on some of the fun offensively, but only got one assist in this one. He has looked a little frustrated of late so hopefully this helps him relax a bit. The offensive zone penalties are not necessary, especially on power plays.

Andre Burakovsky – A

He had no confidence coming into this game, and you could see it in the first, as he held onto the puck too long on a chance in front. His goal in the second period seemed to take the weight of the world off his shoulders and he took off from there. A big bounce-back game from him.

Pavel Francouz – C

Francouz made some nice saves in the first but the second goal of the game did not look very good, trickling through his legs. It felt like the Avs bailed out their goaltender in this one, and that may be the first time that’s happened all year, as the goalies have been pretty consistently good.