Avs Game 17 Grades: Secondary boost

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C

Granted, it looks like there’s a chance that Bellemare might never score again given how this year has started, but he at least had some good looks in this game that Hill had to be ready for. Did not like Bellemare just looking to block a shot instead of covering anyone in front of his net on the first Coyotes goal.

Andre Burakovsky – A

Burakovsky looked due for a goal all night long, as he was shooting right from his opening shift, but what really set him apart in this one was his effort on the backcheck. Multiple times he came back hard to help break up rushes, and that’s not something you typically see from him. Great game.

Bowen Byram – B

Good bounce-back performance from Byram. He’s showing that tenacity from the WHL as well, getting in his first NHL fight. Seemed to take a good shot to the face, but solid game overall.

J.T. Compher – B-

Coming off his best game of the year, he followed it up with a solid performance. Took a big hit in the second that looked nasty, and nearly came back and scored on his next shift.

Joonas Donskoi – B-

I don’t think the film room in the defensive zone last game was too kind to Donny, as he struggled there. He seemed to take that to heart, including a big shot block late in the game where he laid down to one knee to get in front of it.

Samuel Girard – B

A great game from Girard where he unfortunately lost Kessel in front on the Coyotes’ first goal. Other than that, I think it was his best performance overall since coming back from the COVID list, as he seemed to have more energy.

Ryan Graves – B-

Really strong shot share numbers, but some super iffy moments, including a brutal turnover behind his own net in the first period that led to a good chance for the Coyotes. Also had an unforced icing in the second that didn’t look great.

Tyson Jost – C

Much like Bellemare, it feels like Jost may never score, but he’s not exactly getting a ton of chances. His only shot of the game came late when the puck squirted out to him in front of the net and he put it right into Hill’s chest. Hopefully some offense starts to come to help boost his confidence.

Nazem Kadri – A+

Kadri has missed some Grade A scoring chances of late, and he did miss a few in this one, but a great game overall. Great vision on Rantanen’s goal to hit Mikko back door instead of firing a rebound shot right back at Hill and the best part about Burakovsky’s goal was Kadri’s work on the backcheck just prior to it.

Gabriel Landeskog – B

The Captain was angry in this one, as he took a couple of hits early that were questionable. Seems like it’s been happening to him a lot lately, and he just took all of his frustration out on Conor Garland. That was not a fair fight, but don’t start what you can’t finish.

Jacob MacDonald – B+

Well, I don’t see how he comes out of the lineup tomorrow. Found him to be a bit more controlled in this one, but when he wanted to join the rush, he did. Great shot metrics and he’s certainly a much better skater than Timmins on the back end, which fits with the Avs’ identity.

Nathan MacKinnon – B

You can tell there’s still a level of frustration that the puck isn’t consistently going into the back of the net for him, but he’s still ripping it. Loved his spin-around shot at the net in the first, and he tried it in the second again but the terrible ice took out his skates. Not sure you’re going to hear a louder post than his in the third.

Cale Makar – A-

Had a rough shift in the first period that ended with him taking a penalty, but he also drew two of his own, so it works out. His energy levels were much higher in this one. Don’t love him playing that high of minutes on the first night of a back to back, but he looked great doing so and fought through awful ice to feed Kadri for the winner.

Hunter Miska – B-

Avs sure made his life easy in the first period, but he’s so scrambly that it makes me uncomfortable. I really have no clue why he got so far out of the net on the Kessel goal. It was an adventure to the end after that, but not much he could do on that second goal.

Valeri Nichushkin – B

Followed up his best game with another solid performance overall. Love to see him going back to just putting the puck on net. Coyotes only credited with two shots on net with him on the ice.

Mikko Rantanen – B+

It looked really iffy again in the first period, as he was a little sloppy, but pulled it together after that. Love how he chokes up on his stick like a baseball player in front of the net for goals. Great center net drive on the Burky goal and he nearly created another goal himself for Landeskog moments later.

Brandon Saad – B

Beautiful play in the second period to curl around the defender and hit Kadri for a great chance in front that Hill had to make a save on. Solid game overall for the veteran, and a nice addition back into the lineup.

Devon Toews – A-

This guy is a monster on the back end. Loved his game from beginning to end, and his willingness to jump up into the rush is great. Followed up MacKinnon multiple times for chances in this one.