Avs Game 9 Grades: Mild

Andre Burakovsky – B

The first assist wasn’t too much and benefited on a great play by Saad, but the second assist was a thing of beauty to Compher, threading the needle across the royal road to hit him for an easy goal. We’re now sitting here with him well over a point per game to start his season.

Bowen Byram – B-

I loved the first half of the game for Byram, with his decision making and just overall poise with the puck. In the second half, I felt it fell off a little bit, including one power play where he turned it over on three consecutive passes. Still, a lot to like about the 19-year-old.

J.T. Compher – B-

Compher showed more of that pest side tonight than he has combined all year long, and I think that’s a good sign to get him going. The goal at the end can only help, as he has struggled to really create much of anything.

Joonas Donskoi – B

Just continues to produce, even though he played the least at even strength among all forwards on the team. Sometimes I wonder how much of a pure fit he is in the bottom six, but he keeps producing, and that’s more than you can say about the rest of the bottom six.

Samuel Girard – A+

A fantastic performance. It felt like he and Makar were on the ice the entire game, and in complete control at all times. It really does feel like he never gets tired. Love watching him on the PK, as he just has to pick up the puck and he out skates everyone to get it out of the zone.

Ryan Graves – B

Stepped up in a big way after EJ went out, particularly on the penalty kill. I don’t like his shot selection in the offensive zone, but with EJ likely out and Toews already out, suddenly the Avs are going to need him in a big way.

Philipp Grubauer – A-

I don’t love the goal against, as it feels like his glove should be a little higher, but it also bounced off his mask, so it’s not like it was a perfect shot. After that, he shut it down, even though the workload wasn’t much. His best save was probably the one-timer on Dumba in the third period.

Erik Johnson – INC

Here we go again, unfortunately. That injury looked bad, optics wise, and it’s too bad they kept showing it as well. Just have to hope for the best here.

Tyson Jost – A

First game back at center, and looked comfortable all night. His line was a buzzsaw in the offensive zone, causing problems for the Wild and he really looks just a step quicker this season.

Nazem Kadri – C

Have to say, didn’t notice Kadri too much, beyond one big hit in the second period. Maybe his wrists were tired after unloading a billion shots the other night.

Gabriel Landeskog – C

The top line was pretty tame most of the evening, outside of a few rushes here and there. An offensive zone penalty is never a good thing, especially one where you’re reaching in on the forecheck.

Nathan MacKinnon – B+

Shoutout to Nate for toying with the Wild’s defense on the Saad goal, which really ended the game overall. His net drive and drop on Rantanen’s goal really just pushed the defense back enough to create space. Not a good night for the first powerplay unit.

Cale Makar – A

Loved his game in the defensive zone, and in the first two periods, he played a ton without EJ around. We’re getting a lot of looks at him on the penalty kill and I like what I’ve seen, although he gets a little too aggressive at times.

Valeri Nichushkin – D

Again, the weak spot upfront. Plays just die on his stick. In the offensive zone, you can see him try to make plays, but his passes get blocked or don’t have the touch on them to get through. Kind of hindering that bottom six’s ability to create a lot.

Logan O’Connor – A

Hard not to love everything about his first game this year. Scoring on your first shift is one thing, but creating havoc on other shifts is really all you need out of your fourth line. Helped create a two on one shorthanded as well, with his pass just missing Nichushkin.

Mikko Rantanen – A-

Just unstoppable right now. There really is no other word to describe him. When he cuts to the middle in the offensive zone, teams can’t stop him because his reach is too much for them to handle. Loved his patience on the odd man rush on Saad’s goal where he waited instead of forcing a pass back to MacKinnon.

Brandon Saad – A

That pass to Donskoi was about as perfect as it gets, and he picked up yet another goal late when he jumped on with MacKinnon and Rantanen. I still do think he’d be a good fit with that line if Bednar decided he wanted to spread out the top line a bit.

Kiefer Sherwood – A

Kind of feels like he’s gotten better in every game so far. The fourth line tonight felt like it had its best night all year, even with two veterans missing.

Conor Timmins – C

Hated his first period, possibly his worst period of the season. Every decision he was making ended up being wrong, and causing some problems for this team. After that, he did settle down a bit and ended up playing second most at even strength behind Girard. Like Bednar said after the game, he’s a smart player but seems like he’s not put together that one final piece.