Avs Game 55 Grades: Almost there

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – A

Nice to see him get rewarded with a goal after taking a beating in the corner. Even got some powerplay time at the end of the game with the game being out of hand. Won’t see that often.

Andre Burakovsky – A

A confident player right now, carrying the puck with ease and getting himself into great scoring positions. He’s carrying the secondary scoring and hopefully some of these other guys can carry some of their momentum over as well.

J.T. Compher – A+

Wow. A much-needed game from Compher. Maybe the game-winning goal the other night sparks him heading into the postseason. The one thing he has failed to do is get himself into position to use his shot, and he did that a few times tonight. Great steal just before his hat trick goal.

Joonas Donskoi – B

First goal in 14 games, and a big one. Peterson seemed to have some mojo going early in the game, as he usually does, and Donskoi’s rebound sparked the team and killed that. Big game for him to get some momentum.

Sam Girard – A

Thank god that guy is back. Instantly pushes everyone back into their spots that they are more comfortable with and makes the team instantly better. He’s incredible, and no one should take him for granted.

Ryan Graves – A

I’m sure he’s happy to have Girard back, as you could see him deferring the puck to Sam on a lot of the breakouts. That’s the way it should be. Smart game from Graves.

Philipp Grubauer – A

Another easy game and that’s how his regular season will end. The Avs have made his season pretty easy with limiting shots, but you can only stop the shots that you see, and that’s what he did all year. Not even sure he had to make a difficult stop in this one.

Tyson Jost – A

Moved around the lineup a ton, and the Avs dominated with him on the ice. You take that. Hope he and Nichushkin can find their mojo together again because it feels like just a little bit of that has worn off.

Nazem Kadri – B

Kadri looks a lot better, but still looks to be lacking confidence shooting the puck. There was one point on the powerplay where, instead of taking a one-timer, he held onto it, then wound up for a shot. Just taking a little too long to release the puck.

Gabriel Landeskog – A

Another 20-goal year for Landy, even in a shortened season. Great backhand from the slot, and on the opening goal by Compher, a great, controlled zone entry by him. That’s something he’s incredible at.

Cale Makar – C

Funny enough, Makar didn’t look great. He made a bad pass to Rantanen that led to a near breakaway that Toews bailed him out on, and didn’t do a ton offensively. Cleary they didn’t need him.

Jayson Megna – B

Another solid game. He seems to be good for one good game, then tails off a little bit. Not sure he’s a guy you want playing in the playoffs, but he can skate at the very least.

Patrik Nemeth – B

I’m coming around on Nemeth. I think he’s settling in after a rough start. His passing is getting a little bit better, but mostly, he’s settled into just being steady on the back end. That’s all they need.

Alex Newhook – B

Had more scoring chances tonight than in the other games, but failed to convert them, including a miss in the slot in the first and then one again in the third period. Still like a lot about his game, and he’ll get yet another shot tomorrow.

Valeri Nichushkin – A

Great pass on the Compher goal, and actually made a ton of great passes tonight that didn’t always get converted. Love when the big train shows off his playmaking skills.

Mikko Rantanen – A

Looked like he hurt his hand in the first period, but didn’t bother him at all, with three more assists to just keep things rolling. Nearly had a Crosby-esque deflection on the powerplay that hit the crossbar. Would have been beautiful.

Kiefer Sherwood – C

Missed a wide-open net in the first period, but it didn’t even matter. Beyond that, his most noticeable moment was taking a Makar shot to the leg.

Conor Timmins – A

Loved his game for tonight. Moving his feet in both zones and really comfortable on the ice. Big difference and he earned his way into a likely spot on the playoff defense.

Devon Toews – A

Fantastic game overall. Chipped in with some big points and made a great defensive play to break up a potential breakaway and bail out his defensive partner. Blowout games like this are huge for limiting his minutes.