Avs-Sabres player grades: Domination

Avs win big tonight, though I thought this was a closer game than the final 6-1 score. Let’s break down the individual performances of the players, shall we?

Tyson Barrie (B) – A pair of assists for  No. 4 tonight, including a great touchdown pass to Alexander Kerfoot for a breakaway goal that put the game away in the third period. I think he’s been a bit too indecisive on the power play still at times, and his Corsi (42) wasn’t great. But that pass earned the B by itself.

Erik Johnson (B+) – More than 21 minutes of good, sound hockey. Nothing too flashy anywhere, just a solid game for No. 6. Sam Girard definitely has made his life easier.

Matt Calvert (B-) – Only played 11 minutes, but logged nearly four of them on the penalty kill, which blanked Buffalo on all seven chances. Does the little things so well.

Patrik Nemeth (C) – Had only a 30 Corsi rating at even strength, with 14 events against and six for. It was his first game back after missing a pair with an undisclosed injury.

Alexander Kerfoot (B-) – For some reason, he’s taking quite a few penalties on the season. He took two more minors in this one, for 10 PIM on the year. That hatchet man. He scored a breakaway goal, though, and his Corsi is aforementioned.

Nikita Zadorov (C) – Not great analytics, but I thought he was physically engaged. He took a boarding penalty in the second that stirred up the Sabres bench. Needs to manage the puck better overall.

Tyson Jost (B) – He got his first point on the season (a goal that opened the scoring, a nice tip of a Barrie slapper) and his puck possession numbers were strong. Needs to find a way to win more faceoffs. Only won one of five in this one.

Colin Wilson (A) – Another goal for No. 22. That’s three on the year, or halfway to as many as he scored in 56 games last year. I like his improved speed and battle readiness. There’s a reason he’s lasted 10 years so far in this league.

Ian Cole (C+) – Sixteen Corsi events against, nine for. Translation: lots of shots against while he was on the ice. But he battled. He always battles at the very least.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – Two more goals for No. 29, five on the season. His first goal, which made it 4-1, ended Buffalo’s gathering momentum right in its tracks. A pretty breakaway goal at the end, too.

Carl Soderberg (A) – Strong game for Carl, with a goal and lots of good hard work on the PK. He also won 54 percent of his faceoffs.

J.T. Compher (B-) – The kid from Illinois got an assist. He was running around a bit defensively at times, though. Seems like his mind races a bit on the ice, but the effort is always there.

Sam Girard (A-) – His Corsi was under 50, which seemed hard to believe, because I thought it was another excellent game for No. 49. He had an assist and was a plus-2.

Gabriel Bourque (B+) – I thought he did a lot of nice work on the PK. He led the team with six hits and sacrificed his body blocking a couple shots.

Matt Nieto (D) – Missed on a mini-breakaway and has just gotten off to a very slow start offensively. Puck possession numbers have been poor so far too. Needs to pick things up.

Vladislav Kamenev (C) – Made one nice pass, in the first period to Matt Calvert that resulted in a high-danger scoring chance. Otherwise, was just kind of there. He played only seven minutes, so tough to give a real grade.

Gabe Landeskog (C) – Failed to get on the score sheet somehow, and had only a 30 Corsi. Seemed a bit sluggish at times.

Mikko Rantanen (A-) – The big Finn had three assists, even though the puck possession numbers were not good for his line. But the guy made plays.

Semyon Varlamov (A-) – He’s 3-0 to start the season. He had to make some good saves in this one. Buffalo put a lot of pressure on him in the middle of the game. He was bailed out by a couple of posts, but overall another solid game for No. 1.