Avs Game 39 Grades: End on a whimper

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – F

Can’t really say much other than the Avs penalty kill was horrendous, and Bellemare was out there for three of the Wild PP goals. The fourth line has not looked the same without the speed of an O’Connor or Calvert.

Andre Burakovsky – D

Scored another goal, very similar to his one on Monday evening off a rebound with an empty net, so that’s good. Still not a fan of how he’s playing overall, and that second line looks like it has no chemistry. They seem to go in waves between playing bad, then great, then bad again. The sixth goal was a mess with him being involved with a turnover.

Kyle Burroughs – C

Picked up his first NHL assist, which is something he can always treasure, and actually got to play decent minutes because the game was so out of hand.

J.T. Compher – F

Quite literally nothing happened with him on the ice at even strength, with only six shot events total in his nearly 10 minutes, but like Bellemare, was a big part of the penalty kill failures.

Joonas Donskoi – D

Had a really nice chance in the slot in the second period that he almost airmailed over the net. Wasn’t a huge fan of him on the powerplay in the bumper position, as Rantanen hit him at one point for a shot, and instead of one-timing it, he corralled it and put a soft shot into Talbot’s chest.

Samuel Girard – D

He put some faith into Toews being able to make the zone exit pass on the fourth Wild goal, which he probably makes on most nights, but that wasn’t the case tonight, and because Girard was eager to go on the rush, Hartman was able to skate in and bury that goal, which temporarily killed the buzz of the Avs.

Ryan Graves – F

I think his partner was a bigger problem on some of the goals he was out there for, but still a part of the penalty kill that couldn’t get it done. Had some bad luck on a failed clear just prior to the Wild’s fifth goal.

Philipp Grubauer – F

It was bound to happen at some point, but he didn’t have anything going for him tonight and got beat pretty easily a few times. High glove was the Wild’s shot of choice. That’s going to hurt the numbers.

Tyson Jost – D

Drew a weird penalty where Suter knocked his helmet off his head. I know that’s happened in games before, but never seen it called. The third line, like most of the team, didn’t have the same mojo going all night long.

Nazem Kadri – D

Keeps getting shots in, and drew at least one penalty in the second period to give the Avs some life, but just not using his linemates very effectively. He got lucky in the first, as he completely lost his man coming back off a rush and Hartman ended up hitting the post.

Gabriel Landeskog – D

At even strength, the top line really didn’t do a whole lot. Landeskog was the only one of them to even register a shot on net at 5 on 5. There were a few times where he got a little too cute with the puck, but as is the case most nights, you can’t fault his effort.

Jacob MacDonald – F

There’s a chance he gets a call from the league for his hit on Hartman in the first period, but the only reason the Avs were in that position was because of a rough turnover by him at the offensive blue line. After that, he seemed to be launching the puck at the net any time it came near him, knowing that he might have to take a few nights off. Soft defense on some goals.

Nathan MacKinnon – C

Superstar moments, but really only on the powerplay, as he was held to no shots on net at even strength. The penalties kind of negated a lot of the good he did.

Cale Makar – F

Woof, just a tough night for him, even though the shot share says otherwise. The first goal, he just completely lost Kaprizov and knew it immediately, and on the second one, there sure didn’t seem to be much contact for him to fall down like that and it hurt. Picked up a few assists but not a good night.

Valeri Nichushkin – F

That was an uncharacteristically poor game defensively from Nichushkin, who lost Kaprizov behind him on the fifth Wild goal. The only player on the Avs not even to break even at shot share.

Liam O’Brien – D

In the lineup for I guess reasons like whatever happened in the third period, but the game was done at that point anyway, so didn’t change a whole lot. The fourth line doesn’t have the same energy without LOC on it.

Mikko Rantanen – D

The king of the cross-check, apparently, as he keeps getting busted for them. Another goal off a great read to jump down low for the rebound, but a quiet night at even strength.

Brandon Saad – F

The turnover calamity at the start of the third on the Wild’s sixth goal started with him and ended in the back of the Avs net. Hit the crossbar late, but at that point, the game was well out of hand.

Devon Toews – F

Yikes. He seemed off his game early, as he was frustrated with a cross-check he took on the first shift of the game and got caught screening Grubauer a few times. The worst part, however, was his turnover on the Hartman goal in the second period. Just brutal.