Avs-Flames player grades: Goalie sabotage

Player grades from Colorado’s loss to the Calgary Flames.

Sven Andrighetto (D) – There hasn’t been anything with going on with this guy for a while now. Fourth line life is hard but he’s still seeing some time on the second PP unit and he’s just not getting anything done.

Tyson Barrie (C-) – You just can’t take penalties right now. The PP he quarterbacks produced zero goals again tonight. This just isn’t good enough when the team is struggling this much.

Matt Calvert (B) – There was some good PK work and a nice little play to Johnson for his assist. He was just fine tonight.

Ian Cole (B-) – A big jump forward from his problematic performance last night. Cole was much tighter in his gaps and didn’t get caught in no man’s land covering nobody in particular.

J.T. Compher (C+) – I just didn’t notice JTC too much tonight. There were moments for his linemates but I thought he was pretty close to passenger status tonight at even strength. Really good PK work though.

Sheldon Dries (C) – This is usually the grade I give to guys who I just don’t have a strong opinion on. Dries hasn’t done much of anything since his last recall but the lack of quality options for the 4C job likely provide him with ample job security for right now.

Samuel Girard (C-) – For a player who made his bones in junior as an offensive dynamo, his puck management sure can get wonky at times. I liked what he did defensively tonight but he just can’t continue to be a complete non-factor offensively. He needs to take a significant step forward in that aspect of his game.

Ryan Graves (B-) – I really didn’t have a problem with anything he did tonight. He was just fine again and his decision making continues to be what carries him. His physical abilities look a bit limited to me at the NHL level but his smarts are helping him be successful. I’m enjoying watching him play.

Erik Johnson (B+) – I loved a lot of what I saw from EJ tonight. He was moving his feet and activating offensively and that’s when he’s absolutely at his best. The goal he scored was good stuff and the Avalanche definitely need more of that from him.

Tyson Jost (C+) – The process definitely outpaced his results both tonight and last night. He was involved in some high-quality chances for the team but the lack of finish continues to be a concern.

Alexander Kerfoot (B-) – I really loved Kerfoot’s effort tonight. He was all over the place at times and I think he’s really starting to come into his own as the 2C.

Gabriel Landeskog (B) – It’s hard to ask for more from this top line but they needed just a little extra juice tonight. Of course, had they gotten some help maybe I feel differently.

Nathan MacKinnon (B) – Some flashes of greatness but not enough finish. The process was absolutely excellent though.

Patrik Nemeth (D+) – I liked some of his game but not nearly enough. He’s just so limited. When he’s the sixth D, it’s fine, but they’re using Graves as that guy right now so Nemeth slots up a bit and I just don’t like it. Bednar tends to shorten it down to heavy usage of his top four and that’s frustrating in different ways.

Matt Nieto (C) – He played, they tell me.

Logan O’Connor (C-) – There’s nothing happening with LOC on the ice right now. No good, no bad, just a lot of nothing. I’m not sure how this is an improvement over what A.J. Greer could be bringing.

Mikko Rantanen (B) – There were some moments from Mikko. His puck retrieval on Colorado’s first goal was perfection. The rest was a frustrating cavalcade of missed opportunities. Sneaky goal to make the final score a little closer. Just shoot, Mikko.

Carl Soderberg (C+) – I like when Carl puts his head down and plays hard. He’s a blast to watch when he’s going but with two offensively limited linemates it can be a struggle. Of course, it wasn’t his linemates fault he missed the net entirely on a golden scoring chance.

Semyon Varlamov (F) – Dude. Come on.