Avs Game 21 Grades: Nuketown

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C

Quite literally nothing happened with him on the ice, as there were only seven total shot attempts between the two teams in his nearly 10 minutes of ice.

Andre Burakovsky – D

A step back from Burakovsky after some great performances. The powerplay in the third period really stood out in a negative way, with some turnovers and a shot that missed the net badly and rang out of the zone.

J.T. Compher – D

I hate to keep harping on this, but he, once again, made no impact on this game in any way. No shot attempts in nearly 13 minutes of ice time at 5 on 5, no hits, nothing. He also got completely crushed in the face-off circle, losing eight of the 10 face-offs he took. Avs had good numbers with him out there, but he wasn’t the driver.

Joonas Donskoi – B+

He was really close to being the hero with the go-ahead goal in the third period, but a great play by the Ducks defender to tie up his stick at the last second. Great pass through the defender’s legs to get it to Nichushkin for the huge first goal. I remember one really ugly turnover in his own end that forced Grubauer to make a save, but the Avs dominated with him on the ice.

Samuel Girard – A-

Saved a goal early in the game when he stopped the Ducks forward from beating Grubauer on a wrap-around, and logged a crazy 23 minutes of ice time at even strength, with almost 29 minutes overall. Hopefully he’s still got some legs for tomorrow’s game.

Ryan Graves – D

The whole get the puck at the left point and just launch it at the net, even if there’s no traffic, is frustrating enough, but the turnovers in the defensive end just have to be stopped. A weak clear up the boards helped play a role in the Ducks’ first goal, as well as some iffy coverage on top of it. He got bailed out on a bad pinch in the first by Troy Terry taking a horrible path on the ensuing odd-man rush.

Philipp Grubauer – B

The second goal could have been a bit of a backbreaker, but he held it together. The Ducks broadcast never gave the best angles but sounds like it did hit off Toews stick. Still, Grubauer looked pretty surprised the shot even took place. Nice recovery afterward.

Tyson Jost – C

What a wild rollercoaster of a game. Ugly turnover on the first goal, but created a few nice chances in the first period. Then he picks up an assist on the Saad goal, and has to take a penalty in the third after turning it over in front of his own net. Lots of ups and downs, that included a stick nearly taking out his eye.

Nazem Kadri – B

I wish that goal would have counted, if only because it would have been one of the nicer goals to happen this year. Just crazy eye-hand coordination from Kadri. Really strong shot share numbers and continues to wire the puck at the net, but wish he would keep skating while shooting. Had a chance to drive the net on an early break but chose to stop skating and missed his shot wide.

Gabriel Landeskog – D

I’m not sure Landeskog should have been playing in this one considering his last 24 hours, but he did and he looked…sleepy. Seemed to have nothing going offensively and really struggled to keep control of the puck at all. This is a man who needs a good night’s sleep.

Jacob MacDonald – B+

He’s wild, but it’s working right now. He seemed a bit more in control tonight, and made a really good defensive play coming back against a Ducks forward in the second period, just knocking him off the puck and getting it to his defensive partner.

Valeri Nichushkin – A+

I guess he read the grades last game where I said he’d never score again. A monster all over the ice, with NINE shot attempts, seven shots on goal, and two massive goals. You could tell he was feeling it, and Bednar was wise to just toss him on the ice as much as possible late.

Logan O’Connor – D

Fourth liners taking penalties is never a good thing, but O’Connor really didn’t seem to have that same burst that he has had the last few games. No shot attempts on the evening either.

Mikko Rantanen – D+

I’m not sure how often the Avs can win without Nathan MacKinnon when Rantanen really struggles to do much of anything offensively, but they pulled this one out. He did at least register four shots on goal at even strength, but don’t recall anything too dangerous.

Dan Renouf – A

Essentially reversed what he did last game, leading the team in shot share and even picking up an assist for his first NHL point. Credit where credits due, and love him not taking anything from Getzlaf.

Brandon Saad – A

The production hasn’t been there of late, but it was tonight, and most of his goals seem to come within five feet of the net. That’s his team-leading seventh even-strength goal, so he’s one of the few guys producing just fine at even strength.

Kiefer Sherwood – C

I don’t remember much of anything from Sherwood. That’s fine for his first game back in a while and better than taking a penalty and standing out in a bad way like O’Connor.

Conor Timmins – B+

Really liked what I saw from Timmins, as it was his first game in a long while where he really didn’t make any huge, glaring mistakes, and looked confident with the puck on his stick. Great rush up the ice in the third period led to a good chance for Kadri. Still can’t hit 10 minutes of ice time, though.

Devon Toews – B

Just continues to eat up ice time. Probably wishes he didn’t stick his stick out on the second goal by Anaheim, but great pinches on the first Avs goal, even if he didn’t get an assist. Did manage to get an assist on the game-winner, and has been a nice surprise even in OT on a team that needs players that excel there.