Avalanche Game 7 player grades: Au revoir to a fun ride

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Final grades of the season. Sorry it had to be this way, but that’s what the fates decided.

Mikko Rantanen (A-) – I am going to be more on the generous side with the grades tonight. No sense in being real mean, and I think we all know here I can be a bit harsh when I want to be. Yeah, I know it’s pro sports and these guys get paid a lot, but let’s don’t look back in anger here. I thought Rants battled his butt off tonight, and he got a goal. I asked how much he was “playing hurt” in these playoffs, and he wouldn’t make any excuses whatsoever. “If I’m out there, I’m 100 percent,” he said. That’s a leader’s response. He had a great year, but there’s no doubt that late-season injury slowed him down a bit in the postseason.

Nathan MacKinnon (A-) – Well, that injury he sustained (pretty sure it’s a shoulder) really tossed his teammates back on their heels, and was something of a turning point in the game. MacKinnon got an injection in the locker room and got back on the ice. That’s hockey tough. He would have had an assist on a game-tying goal, but, well, we know what happened. He had a great year.

Gabe Landeskog (C) – Hopefully, he won’t have his summer ruined by that faulty exit from the ice, which led to the offside challenge and the no-goal. But, yeah, it was a pretty big mistake that cost his team in a Game 7. I think he just thought the play was going the other way, and he just was a bit too casual getting off the ice. The Sharks caught him on it and it cost a very big goal. That said, I think he was playing hurt a bit in this series. He seemed a step slow at times, especially tonight. He had a great year otherwise.

Alexander Kerfoot (C+) – He got an assist, but finished the playoffs without a goal. I didn’t like his series very much. Too many turnovers, too many missed opportunities offensively, too much on the perimeter, etc. I was a bit surprised Jared Bednar had him on the ice at the ends of games when his team was down a goal. Had an up-and-down season.

Carl Soderberg (C-) – Poor Carl, he just couldn’t buy a break in this series offensively and not much in the playoffs overall. He seemed a bit tired a lot of the time. He worked his tail off, as usual, but just didn’t have the kind of offensive playoffs he did in the first 82. I thought he had the game tied in the second period, but his shot went just wide.

J.T. Compher (C+) – I thought his line was really bad in the first half of the game, but got better after that. He really had that great Game 6 at home, but other than that, there wasn’t a whole lot there offensively in the series. I think it was a good season overall for him, though. Hopefully, he can crack the 20-goal barrier next year.

Derick Brassard (B-) – He had a couple of nice moments tonight, nearly setting up a couple of goals. It just never seemed to be quite the right fit for him on this team, though, after coming over at the deadline. I’m not sure that’s all his fault. He’s a natural center, and he played better when moved to center instead of on the wing. Problem is, this team has a lot of centers. I doubt he’ll be re-signed, as a UFA. It just didn’t quite work out.

Gabriel Bourque (D+) – Look, the guy always battled, but that’s probably it for his Avs career. I don’t think he played as well in this series as he did against Calgary. He seemed to get gassed on a couple of shifts tonight, one of which finished in a Sharks goal.

Matt Nieto (C+) – I thought he was OK, certainly not a problem player tonight. He is better in a game in which the Avs have a lead, where he can just forecheck and dump pucks in and be dangerous on the occasional foray. When you’re behind and need offense, though, his value goes down some, like tonight.

Tyson Jost (A-) – Really good game for the kid. Where was that much of the year? Honestly, I thought he was the Avs’ best player tonight up front. Hopefully, he can take this into summer, work even harder on his game and come back with a 20-goal season, like he’s perfectly capable of getting.

Colin Wilson (B) – He wuz robbed. Yeah, technically it was the right call on that disallowed goal, but it’s a shame a great goal like that had to be called back over the equivalent of a home-run hitter not touching first base. Now, the question becomes: should the Avs re-sign him? I don’t know which way it’ll go, but I think he did himself proud with his play, especially late in the year.

Tyson Barrie (D) – It hurts to give that grade, because he’s such a good guy. But, after a great first round, he just didn’t seem in sync in this series. His puck-possession numbers were bad (6 Corsi for, 16 against) and he had trouble running the power play. He couldn’t get shots through, and lost too many pucks at the blue line. It’ll be interesting to see what the Avs’ plans for him are moving forward.

Erik Johnson (B-) – Four shots on net, five blocked shots, four hits. A pretty good game overall. He had a bit of a quiet series, though. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you get the feeling he could have done a bit more.

Cale Makar (C+) – For him, it was probably just an average game. He bobbled the puck a couple of times and was a minus-1. I really think he’s going to be a great player for the Avs, though, and his addition to the team really made a difference in the team winning a series. He probably needs a breather after a frenetic spring. But he’ll be a foundation player for this team moving forward.

Nikita Zadorov (D) – Rough night for Big Z. His turnover helped lead to that third Sharks goal, which proved the game-winner. By far, the biggest thing Z needs to work on, to get to the next level as a D-man, is that first pass from his own zone. He’s got to find that extra second of patience with the puck, or else there will be other games like this one. His contract is up. I think he’ll get a new one from the Avs, but this game hurt his cause.

Ian Cole (B+) – Solid game, pretty solid season for No. 28, in his first year with Colorado. He had strong Corsi numbers (16-6) and worked hard. He is a good guy, good teammate and proved to be a good signing by Joe Sakic. Was he perfect? Nope. But he had a good year.

Patrik Nemeth (B) – He played only a little more than eight minutes, as the seventh D-man. I thought he played well in the playoffs, and it was a tough break for him to have to sit out a few games like he did. His contract is up and he’ll be a UFA. I think that’s it for his Avs career, but he went out with his head held high.

Sam Girard (A-) – He was the Avs’ best defenseman in this one, chipping in with an assist on the Rantanen goal. I don’t think he’s a great power-play quarterback right now, though. His shot is a little too soft from the point. I think he should just really focus on doing what he does best, which is skate the puck out of the zone and make the first pass.

Philipp Grubauer (B) – Hmm, tough grade here. I think he allowed that one extra goal that separates winners from losers, in general, in this series. That said, I don’t think it much much his fault, many of the goals against in this series. He was generally very, very good in the playoffs. I thought he could have been a bit better tonight, but so could most everyone. He is clearly the Avs’ goalie of the future.