Adrian Dater
That was what you call a hard-earned win. Avs beat the Wild 2-1 in a game in which it definitely looked like each team was missing some of their top players. But the Avs were better and deserved the win. Let’s get to some grades:
Gabe Landeskog (B-) – A little sloppy with the puck at times, especially in the second period, but he was better in the third. Seems like he’s a bit snake-bit offensively right now, with no goals in the last six games.
J.T. Compher (B) – I give J.T. a better grade than maybe he deserved because he stood up for teammate Cale Makar, after the Calder Trophy winner was charged by Kyle Rau in the second period. Standing up for your teammates matters. He was pretty decent defensively too.
Mikko Rantanen (B-) – He grinded away out there, but came up empty despite a couple of real good chances. I like his physical game more than the past, and I think it’s because he’s stronger and in better shape. Not that he was in bad shape before, just sayin….
Brandon Saad (C+) – His line was pretty quiet in terms of pure chances, but he had a good final shift of the game, I thought, when he was part of a group that kept the puck in the zone for a while longer when the Wild were pressing to get it out.
Nazem Kadri (C+) – Pretty much the same kind of game as the rest of his line. He played hard, but had a couple of turnovers. He was good on faceoffs, though, and that mattered on a night like tonight. He won 11-of-16 draws.
Andre Burakovsky (C+) – See above.
Valeri Nichushkin (B+) – He scored a goal, which proved the game-winner, and he was good on pucks. He has picked his game up some, for sure. I love his wide skating stance and edges. He’s so big that he’s a handful when he’s hard on pucks like tonight.
Tyson Jost (A-) – Good, hard-working game. Good defensively and he was tough on the forecheck. Would we all love a bit offense? Yeah, but…
Joonas Donskoi (B+) – He had an assist in little more than 13 minutes, which made a real difference. I like Donkey as a player, and that includes defensively.
Kiefer Sherwood (B+) – Got an assist. He’s been a real nice addition as a fourth-line plugger. Played less than seven minutes. Nice pickup by management from the Ducks.
Logan O’Connor (A) – Another goal. No, it wasn’t Gretzky-esque, but it counted just the same. I mean, two goals in three games for a fourth-liner – that works. Took a penalty in offensive zone and had a tough turnover, but it’s still an A.
Cale Makar (A) – Superb game. He was great with the puck all night, so smooth. Played 26:23 and had an assist. Withstood a cheap shot hit from Kyle Rau.
Sam Girard (A-) – He wore an A tonight, a good testament to his value and play so far. He still drives me nuts at times by not shooting the puck, but it is what it is. He was solid with the puck overall.
Bo Byram (B) – Kind of a quiet night for No. 4, but that’s not always a bad thing for a D-man.
Conor Timmins (B) – Played nearly 15 minutes, and not too noticeable either, but he seemed fine. Foot speed seemed a bit off tonight, but, again, he was fine.
Ryan Graves (B+) – I liked Gravy’s game overall. He’s moving his feet a bit better than earlier in the year and not making so many long, chancier passes from his own end. I’d like to see him hit the net more with his shot, but baby steps.
Jacob MacDonald (A-) – A pretty nice game for the unheralded local boy. Played 15:35 and had three shots on net. He’s basically taken the sixth D-man job away from Greg Pateryn right now, which is a surprise.
Philipp Grubauer (A) – Excellent game again for No. 31. Only goal against was on the power play. Very square to pucks, few rebounds.