Avs Game 1 Grades: Lazy habits

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – D

Bednar said in the post-game that he liked his fourth line, but he specifically named the other two players on it and not Bellemare. Bellemare played 13 minutes at even strength tonight. That won’t happen every night, but as we’ve seen in the past, that’s not the role you want him in. That line had chances but plays kind of just died on Bellemare’s stick.

Andre Burakovsky – C

Kudos to Burky for stepping into an opening for the only goal of the night, and he nearly had one just minutes before as well, but can’t say I noticed him too much after that. One thing I want to see from him this year is more shooting at even strength, and that just didn’t happen. He wasn’t the only one with that issue though.

Matt Calvert – B-

Outside of completely biffing on a wide-open net in the third period, Calvert had a strong game for a guy who knows his role on the team. The pink visor is…interesting.

Ian Cole – F

Rough start for Cole, quite literally, as the tape from his first few shifts needs to be burned. He got caught in no man’s land in the neutral zone on the opening goal for the Blues and not long after turned the puck over at the blue line for a good chance against. He was good last year, so not too worried about it right now.

J.T. Compher – D

He picked up an assist on a bit of a flukey play, as he definitely wasn’t passing it to Burakovsky, but my real problem with him is at even strength. A lot of games, you can’t tell if he’s even out there, and this was one of them. He picked up some shots late in the game when it was out of hand, but was a non-factor most of this one.

Joonas Donskoi – D

He had one good shift in the second period where he took the puck to the net, but beyond that, pretty quiet. The makeup of this line is interesting, as there’s no real identity to them since they all play a little differently. It’s, to me, the weakest part of the team.

Samuel Girard – C

Sam was having a great 40 minutes, pushing the play and pace for the team, one of the few guys to do it. The third period, however, was disastrous, as he bailed out on a hit and gave the puck away on the third goal, which was a real dagger. He wasn’t doing much of anything on the fourth goal either. Expecting more of the good Sam moving forward.

Ryan Graves – F

Graves was wildly inconsistent in this one, but the bad outweighed the good, particularly early on. He’s not the main culprit on the first goal, but he basically abandoned the center of the ice, which left the Blues with an easy path once the pass got past him. The second goal against was more egregious from him, as his breakout pass was poor and then he got caught at the blue line, leaving guys behind him. Probably should have had an assist in the third period but Calvert missed the wide-open net.

Philip Grubauer – B-

Interesting one to grade, as he was the best player on the team in the first period, didn’t see much action in the third, and really his only mistake of the night was the giveaway on the fourth goal. He looked good most of this one, and I have to imagine that’s tough for a goalie coming in with no game action.

Tyson Jost – B-

A new, more defined role for Jost this year, and he looked very comfortable. He did a lot well at even strength and on the PK, but not a lot of offense came from it. One of the few players Bednar liked.

Nazem Kadri – F

That was a disastrous game from Kadri. There looked to be some miscommunication on who had who on the first Blues goal, and from that point on, that line was a mess. Turnovers and poor play away from the puck.

Gabriel Landeskog – D-

Only reason I wouldn’t give Landy an F is because he seemed to be one of the few guys trying to muck it up and show some fire. On the ice for a bunch of goals against and an offensive zone penalty, just not a good night for him.

Nathan MacKinnon – C

MacK had his moments in the second period, including the rush up the ice and through Justin Faulk that Binnington was sharp on, but overall, the Blues just didn’t give him much of anything. I imagine he will be ready to go on Friday.

Cale Makar – D

There were some brief flashes in this one, but the biggest memories I have of Makar was him being hemmed into his own zone as the Blues continued to cycle the puck around him. They held him in check all night, and they’re one of the few teams that can do that. Hoping for more in the rematch on Friday.

Valeri Nichushkin – F

All you have to do is look at his ice time to see what the coaching staff thought of his game. He was the low man on the totem pole, and it really wasn’t close. It’s up to him to prove last year wasn’t a fluke and this was a rough start.

Mikko Rantanen – C-

Mikko was a complete non-factor in the first period but slowly started to get it together after that. I did like that he seemed more willing to shoot the puck, as he needs to realize it’s a massive strength for him. I wanted to see more of the Mikko of two seasons ago than the inconsistent one of last year, and we didn’t get that.

Brandon Saad – F

I really don’t know what to do say after this one. He honestly looked like an old man lost in a grocery store. It didn’t look like he knew where to be on the ice, which isn’t a total surprise given he’s on a new team and missed some of the camp, but that was disappointing. Perhaps the biggest concern was how slow he looked. He’s been extremely consistent in his career, so I don’t have any concerns long-term at the moment. Just a tough first game in an Avs uniform.

Conor Timmins – C-

I have concerns about his skating, as it really doesn’t look like it’s gotten much better. That being said, he had some decent moments. The important thing is the Avs need to be committed to letting him play because that’s the only way you’re going to see if he can keep improving. He’s 22, so it’s time.

Devon Toews – C-

Kind of a weird game from him. He does have a good stick in his own end, as he broke up a few cycles, but pretty quiet overall. Not ideal to take a hit to the head in the first period with a new team and have to leave for a good chunk of the game.