Avs-Coyotes Grades: Offensive explosion

How did the players grade out? Let’s check it out.

Sven Andrighetto (B) – He wasn’t great at even strength tonight but the most important was his scoring Colorado’s fifth goal. He hadn’t scored a goal since the Global Series in Sweden against Ottawa so taking the lid off was big for him.

Mark Barberio (A) – Very quietly he was excellent tonight, registering two assists and handling big even strength minutes very well. He will be important for the Avs as Barrie misses time.

Tyson Barrie (INC) – Barrie left early in the game after blocking a shot with his hand. It was confirmed after the game he has a broken bone in his hand. An immediate timetable for his return is unknown.

Blake Comeau (A) – He notched an assist in the barrage of goals tonight and he was part of a dominant shift at even strength. A great performance.

J.T. Compher (B+) – He scored Colorado’s second goal and really helped the downfall of Arizona during their second-period meltdown. It was great to see him get on the scoresheet by straight beating a goaltender.

Samuel Girard (B) – I’m not sure what he thought he was going to accomplish by stepping to Zac Rinaldo but it was obvious he wasn’t expecting to play Rudy Tomjanovich to Rinaldo’s Kermit Washington. I’m just glad he was okay, regardless of what he did in the game.

Erik Johnson (A) – EJ was great in his return, shutting down Arizona’s paltry offense and generating consistent offense. That wasn’t as memorable as the unholy beatdown he laid on Zac Rinaldo after his cheat shot on Girard. He might have beaten the last gasp of his NHL career out of Rinaldo.

Tyson Jost (B) – An interesting night for Jost as he notched an assist with a great pass, took a stick to the face, and was whistled for a lazy penalty. I liked what he did in his 10 minutes.

Alexander Kerfoot (B+) – A great all-around game for Kerfoot. A couple assists to get him going again offensively after a quiet return from his foot injury should be a big help.

Gabriel Landeskog (D+) – He got obliterated at even strength tonight but his maniacal reaction to the Girard incident was awesome. His gloves were off his hands ten feet before he arrived at the fracas. His actual play was unimpressive and he took a terrible penalty in the first that put Colorado behind the eight ball.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – He didn’t play particularly well and he wasn’t nearly as dangerous as he should have been against this Coyotes roster but I’m giving him this grade because when the Avalanche slapped the “A” on his chest, it meant he had to take on a legitimate leadership role. His fire and fury in reacting to the cheap shot on Girard were exactly what you wanted to see.

Patrik Nemeth (D) – He has become Avs’ fans most recent whipping boy and it isn’t hard to see why. His puck skills are a mess, his defensive play is sub-standard, and his results every night show he’s getting crushed at even strength. He did snag an assist tonight so that was nice.

Matt Nieto (A) – The entire Soderberg line was great tonight. They wrecked shop at even strength and each of them got on the scoresheet, with Comeau making a great pass to Nieto and he finished it off in style, putting Colorado up 4-0 and burying the Coyotes.

Mikko Rantanen (D) – Like Landeskog, he got obliterated at even strength. He managed an assist, however, pushing his assist-streak to six games. Unlike Landeskog, he did not contribute to the penalty kill.

Carl Soderberg (A+) – Without MacKinnon, Avs needed some secondary scoring and the man nicknamed “Carl” got it done tonight. He was a sparkplug offensively.

Semyon Varlamov (B-) – Kept the Avs in it when they were sleepwalking through the game until chaos erupted. His two goals against weren’t highlights or anything but he was solid yet again. 

Colin Wilson (B+) – He notched an assist late and his on-ice results were solid at even strength as they tend to be. He’s fine in his current role and it was a nice bounce-back night after a very rough outing against Los Angeles.

Nail Yakupov (B) – His goal was pretty lucky but it reinforced how good things can happen when you throw a puck at the net, which he sometimes gets a little too cute to remember to do.

Nikita Zadorov (A+) – Points, hits, huge minutes played, and excellent shot metrics? What more can you ask for from Big Z, especially in a game that saw the Avs temporarily down to three available defensemen? He stepped up on the power play, penalty kill, and even strength. An all-situations force is what the Avs thought they were getting from Buffalo. If this continues, the Central Division is in trouble.

Jared Bednar (B) – I had no issues with Bednar tonight as he managed his minutes relatively well. The Nemeth adventure continues to see too much ice but given the situation tonight, that was unavoidable for once.