Avs Game Grades: Clinched

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C-

Maybe his best shift of the game came on his first, with a near breakaway on the penalty kill and then another steal to kill more time. After that, his line got caved in. I don’t think it was his guy that scored on the second goal, as O’Brien was the high forward and drifted pretty far away. Another empty netter for him.

Andre Burakovsky – A

I’m not always a huge fan of Burky on the top line, but it worked here. I’m glad he moved off the half wall on the power play, because I don’t like his indecisiveness there, and it worked, as he picked up the powerplay goal. Had some jump and his legs were moving; the third goal was a dagger.

J.T. Compher – C

Super low-event game from him. Made a nice rush up the ice late using his speed, but also lost the face-off on the Blues’ first goal. The PK got caught running around a ton.

Devan Dubnyk – B-

That second goal was ugly, and he still looks a little shaky to me, but another win in the books. The Blues seemed to fire a lot of shots but nothing was too dangerous for the most part.

Samuel Girard – C

Another up and down game for Girard, as he had some turnovers, including one that nearly led to a goal right after the Avs scored on the powerplay. He was…not happy with the penalty he was called for, and with good reason.

Ryan Graves – D+

Glad Nemeth is back because I trust him a little more on the PK than Graves. Just more turnovers plagued him, and some bad clears on the PK, including one that led to the team getting stuck in their end for another minute in the second period. On the other hand, you know he’s willing to put his body on the line to block shots and he did that again.

Tyson Jost – A-

The minus is for the PK, which struggled a bit. The rest of his game was great, drawing multiple penalties and giving the team energy when they really needed it at the end of the first period. This is becoming quite the story.

Nazem Kadri – C+

He’s still firing the puck at the net at will, but the game isn’t all the way there, as he’s still off with his passes. A drop pass in the second period left the zone, and he’s just a half-second late with a few passes. That line did at least keep things out of their end.

Martin Kaut – C

Super safe game from Kaut. Liked that he wanted to carry the puck into the zone, and the chemistry with Timmins was there. His toughest shift came in the second when he got stuck on the ice for way too long. His best moments seemed to come away from that fourth line.

Gabriel Landeskog – B-

You can tell when Landy knows his team doesn’t have their legs because he tries to get nasty to get them going, and that’s what he did in front of his own net at the end of the first period. Great feed on the game-winner but not a huge impact at even strength otherwise.

Nathan MacKinnon – B+

Three more assists and a great forecheck to put pressure on the Blues for the game-winning goal. It’s also wild that he was one of the few guys having success in the face-off circle against the Blues. He’s unstoppable at the moment.

Cale Makar – C

Struggled a bit at times, but also had some good moments, his best coming in the second period, with a great steal in the defensive zone and a near wrap-around goal. This was not a perfect game for anyone and the puck was bouncing on him a lot.

Patrik Nemeth – C-

Ugly moments with the puck at times, and seemed unsure of himself at other times, but was physical and had some decent moments at even strength. Interesting that he played a good bit more than Graves in even his first game back.

Valeri Nichushkin – B-

Didn’t get a point on the first Avs goal, but great work on the forecheck. Took a massive hit in the first period but just bounced back up because he’s a tank.

Liam O’Brien – F

After a great game, a pretty poor one and his only shift in the third period ended up in his own net I believe. He was the last forward back and didn’t pick anyone up and drifted towards the puck carrier.

Brandon Saad – B+

He seemed to get all of the Avs’ best chances, with a semi-breakaway early in the first and then the goal at the end of the first period. Even had another mini break in the third period. Probably one of his better games of late.

Carl Soderberg – C+

I’m not sure I love him on the second line, but he was at least putting the puck on net. Thought it was funny he tried to Forsberg the puck into the net on his chance early. Doesn’t look super comfortable on the PK just yet.

Conor Timmins – B

Another really strong game and you wonder how many more it takes for the Avs to trust him with more minutes. Nearly had his first career goal but Faulk blocked it in the second. Much more aggressive moving into the play and skating.

Devon Toews – D

Felt like Toews really struggled with the puck and in his end. You could tell it wasn’t his night when with a clear chance to get the puck out, he launched it into the bench and hit his own coach. That’s got to hurt.