Avs Game 71 Grades - Avoiding the Season Sweep

The Avalanche avoided getting swept in the season series by the Vancouver Canucks, winning an important road game 3-1.

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

Tyson Barrie (D+) – A really quiet game for Barrie, as he spent the majority of the night in his own end, finishing with only 1 shot on goal and the Avs only controlled 25% of the shot attempts with him on the ice.

Francois Beauchemin (C-) – Beauchemin had a really rough start to the game, including some lazy play in the defensive zone, and taking a penalty in the second period after he gave the Canucks too much room.  He calmed down a bit after the penalty.

Andrew Bodnarchuk (D+) – He spent the majority of the first period in his own end, but I barely noticed him after that.  I welcome the return of Chris Bigras.

Mikkel Boedker (A) – Two big goals for Boedker, and one of the bigger goals to date for the Avs with his individual effort in the third period.  He’s not a small guy, and needs to drive the net more like he did on his second goal.

Blake Comeau (C) – A quieter game for Comeau, which can sometimes be a good thing for him.  He had a rough night in the faceoff circle, but did a good job just letting MacKinnon and Boedker do their thing.

Matt Duchene (A-) – Duchene made a strong play at both ends of the ice on the opening goal.  He got the puck in the defensive zone, broke it out to Iginla, and then took away the puck on the forecheck, creating the chance that eventually ended up in the net.

Eric Gelinas (C+) – As mentioned with Bodnarchuk, most of the first period was spent in their own end, but after that they calmed down (but also barely played).  He got caught watching defensively a few times, but did use his stick well a bit in the defensive zone tonight.

Mikhail Grigorenko (C-) – I thought it was a real quiet night for Grigorenko, and he made some poor decisions with the puck, where he usually is pretty smart.

Nick Holden (F) – Plays died on Holden’s stick tonight.  Whether it was the breakout, or plays in the offensive zone, he just wasn’t able to do anything right.  He had lots of missed passes and when he would shoot, he would float it into the other teams shinpads.  He’s the real weak link in the top 4, and when Barrie isn’t able to bail him out, his weaknesses get magnified.

Jarome Iginla (C-) – Like Grigorenko, I thought he had a quiet night, and Duchene did a lot of the work for that line tonight.  His defensive zone work is still really bad.  At one point, Duchene took the puck away in the defensive zone, and looked up to Iginla, who didn’t even both to get open for a pass.

Erik Johnson (B+) – We’re starting to see more and more of the old EJ.  His feet are moving, and he’s jumping into the play consistently.  He had the best possession numbers on the Avs D tonight.

Nathan MacKinnon (C+) – I have no idea how he didn’t score in the first period, as he managed to hit not one, but two goal posts on just one shot.  He did have a pretty quiet night the rest of the evening, but I think he and Boedker work together.

Andreas Martinsen (B) – When Martinsen sits for long periods of time, it seems to really get him going.  A guy that big is hard to stop when he decides that he wants to take it to the net, and the Canucks didn’t even bother to try on his goal.  Also made a nice breakaway pass to Matthias.

Shawn Matthias (B) – He’s fit in about as well as you could imagine on the third line since he got here.  Another real strong game for him, especially on the forecheck.

Cody McLeod (B) – The 4th line spent the majority of their shifts in the Canucks end.  You can’t ask for much more than that from your 4th line.

John Mitchell (B) – Other than losing his man on the lone Canucks goal, Mitchell had a strong night for the team.

Jack Skille (A) – This was the Skille we saw for good chunks of the first 3 months of the season.  He was moving his feet all night long, driving the net, and causing havoc on the ice.  He drew a penalty in the first with his speed.

Carl Soderberg (B-) – A quietly effective night for Soderberg, as he was good defensively and good on the cycle.  He hasn’t scored in 17 games, and the Avs will need more from him down the stretch.

Semyon Varlamov (A) – A really steady night for the Avs netminder.  The puck was bouncing all over the place on the only Canucks goal, but Varly was strong, and made a huge save just moments before the Avs tied the game up.

The Avs continue their road trip on Friday night when they take on the Calgary Flames.  The game starts at 7 PM MST.