Avs Game 42 Grades - All Caught Up

The Avalanche played a strong 60 minute game and beat the Nashville Predators 5-3, catching them for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

How did each player perform?  Let’s find out…

Tyson Barrie (A) – Pay the man.  That was an Erik Karlsson game from him tonight.  He made some mistakes defensively, including a turnover before the Preds 2nd goal, but he was all over the ice, and scored the game winner.  He was up and down the ice all night.

Francois Beauchemin (C+) – He was steady tonight, and had more chemistry with his partner, which is understandable.  He’s been better on the power play than I imagined.

Andrew Bodnarchuk (C) – He started to get exposed a bit in the second period with his size, but thought he played a decent game, overall.  No flash whatsoever, which is fine.

Blake Comeau (A-) – Two more assists and a few more big hits.  He is really proving to be a valuable pickup by Joe Sakic.

Matt Duchene (B) – He didn’t score any goals, but he was real good all night, causing problems and drawing penalties.  He did hit the crossbar in the first period.

Mikhail Grigorenko (B-) – His line didn’t see a lot of time, but I liked what they did, especially in the second half of the game.  He got robbed by Rinne late in the third.  Won 7 of his 10 faceoffs tonight.

Nate Guenin (C) – When Guenin doesn’t make you want to throw your remote through your TV, that means he had a decent night, by his standards.

Nick Holden (B-) – He did make some mistakes, but the Avs are getting a lot of mileage out of Nick Holden and he added 2 more assists in 25 minutes of ice time tonight.  He even pulled off a move from Wayne’s World in the post-game interview.

Jarome Iginla (C+) – No one played less at even strength than Iggy, which is kind of a surprise.  He’s essentially on the 4th line now.  Scored a big goal going to the net in the first.

Gabriel Landeskog (B) – Tonight was more like the Landeskog we’re used to seeing.  He was tremendous defensively, and he and Soderberg had a few cycling shifts that we expected to see when Soderberg signed this summer.  Great screen on the game winner.

Nathan MacKinnon (B) – You’d prefer to see him taking it to the net more, but it’s not exactly easy to get 6 shots on goal, and attempt another 5.

Andreas Martinsen (C-) – Probably his weakest game in the last few weeks.  He didn’t see a lot of ice time, and actually turned the puck over a few times.

Cody McLeod (A) – McLeod is really having a tremendous season.  His penalty wasn’t really a penalty, and he scored a huge goal in the first period after a nice forecheck.

John Mitchell (B+) – Centered the line that was probably the Avs best tonight, and while I would say he was probably the worst one on that line, that’s not really a bad thing.  Limit his minutes and he’s very valuable.

Zach Redmond (C) – He always seems to end up with the best possession numbers on the defense.  He was overhandling the puck a lot in the second period, but that’s just what he does.

Jack Skille (A) – I won’t be surprised if the Avs are looking to offer him an extension here in the near future.  Another huge game for him, and he brings endless energy to the lineup.

Carl Soderberg (B+) – He’s right up there with Landeskog for the smartest forward on the team.  He just makes smart decisions all the time, and he added two more assists tonight.  Really intelligent play at the end of the game to kill time and then not ice the puck.

Alex Tanguay (D) – He showed a bit of life in the third, but he’s a complete liability all over the ice.  I have no idea why he’s killing penalties, but his minutes need to be limited.

Semyon Varlamov (B-) – He shouldn’t be beaten short side on the first goal, but it was a great shot.  The second goal was just a tremendous shot, and not much he could do.  He looked a bit off his angle on the third goal, but it was a prime scoring position.  He shut the door after that.

The Avs hit the road for a game as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks this Sunday.  The game starts at 5 PM MST.