Avs Game 1 Player Grades - An Exciting Beginning

The Colorado Avalanche opened their season with a ridiculously exciting victory over the Dallas Stars by the score of 6-5.  The game was a coaches nightmare but a fans dream and helped the Avs get off to a strong start before heading on the road against some of the league’s best.

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

Tyson Barrie (C+) – Barrie has been a bit of a slow starter in past seasons.  Tonight, he struggled defensively, particularly in the first period, with a poor pinch early that led to Comeau’s penalty right before the Stars opened the scoring.  But he’s a dynamic player, and he showed that later, with a tremendous pass to spring Soderberg on his goal, and a smart play to just throw the puck at the net on the game winner.

Francois Beauchemin (C-) – No one on the Avs played more than Beauch, but I thought he was the worst defenseman on the team.  He made some really bad pinches, and one of them led to the Stars 2nd goal.  Obviously, the coaches really trust him, but I’m not sure another year of him leading the team in ice time is a good thing.

Rene Bourque (C) – Bourque had one really strong shift in the second period, and was really physical all night, with 6 hits leading the team, but that line spent a lot of time defending.  It seems obvious he’s being asked to play a different role than maybe what he’s been used to his whole career.

Gabriel Bourque (B-) – Gabriel made a really nice behind the back pass to Barrie on a rush in the second that didn’t lead to anything, and he was really strong on the penalty kill.  It must be a good sign when the coach has you out to protect the lead late in the game.

Joe Colborne (A+) – Colborne had a terrible preseason, but none of that matters now, does it?  He scored three goals tonight, and the puck wasn’t on his stick for more than a combined one second on all of them.  Those are the dirty goals the Avs wanted when they signed him this summer, and, hopefully, there’s more to come.

Blake Comeau (D) – Maybe it’s best to cut Comeau some slack, as he didn’t get much of a preseason because of injury, but he had two poorly timed penalties and was mostly quiet all night.  He did make a nice zone entry on the Colborne hat trick goal, though.

Matt Duchene (B-) – Duchene was really strong early in the game, and just missed a goal when the puck bounced over his stick, but was pretty quiet the rest of the night.  I’m still not very sure about that line, so we’ll see how long they’re together.

Mikhail Grigorenko (B) – I really liked Grigorenko’s game tonight.  He led the team with 5 shots on goal and is clearly confident after his terrific preseason.  I don’t remember a single game last year where Grigorenko had that many shots on net.  Good things will continue to happen if he keeps playing like that.

Jarome Iginla (C) – The injury to Rantanen may have put Iginla in a spot he wasn’t going to be to start the year, but man, did he look out of place with MacK and Landy.  I don’t think he was terrible, but things kind of died when he got the puck.  His mini breakaway was a little depressing.

Erik Johnson (B+) – After his first few shifts, where he wasn’t moving his feet, I thought he was the best defenseman on the ice.  He started skating with the puck more and pushing the play, and when he gets going, other teams can’t slow him down.  He ended the game with Tyutin, but hopefully, he goes right back to skating with Zadorov on Monday, as they were really good together for two periods.

Gabriel Landeskog (A) – After some bad puck luck on the first goal, Landeskog was a monster the rest of the night.  His aggressive forecheck helped on the game-winning goal, and he was terrific protecting the lead, even taking some key faceoffs.  He is an elite two-way winger and Bednar’s system may be perfect for him.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – Hopefully tonight was the beginning of the Nathan MacKinnon breakout.  He was the best skater on the ice, and couldn’t be contained by any defenders.  The only thing you would want to see is him shooting the puck more, but when he was on the ice, the Avs controlled an absurd 70% of the shot attempts.

Andreas Martinsen (B) – Martinsen’s strong play in the preseason earned him a spot on the roster, and if he plays like he did tonight, he won’t come out of the lineup much.  He was physical and even was successfully used in roles he hadn’t been used in the past, including the penalty kill.  A good start for the big Norwegian.

Ben Smith (C) – I am not a huge Smith fan, but it appears Jared Bednar is, as he used him a lot to protect the lead.  He had the worst possession numbers on the team and was the only player on the team to finish at -2.

Carl Soderberg (B) – That breakaway goal was smooth as butter.  He was used in a lot of tough situations, and was dominant in the faceoff circle, something he struggled with last season.

Fedor Tyutin (C+) – Tyutin playing 20+ minutes is hopefully not something that happens consistently this year, but he was solid tonight, for the most part.  It seems like the coaches are really going to trust him late in games.  His decisions with the puck and his lack of speed are going to be things to keep an eye on with him.

Semyon Varlamov (D) – After an amazing preseason, Varly really had a tough night.  He probably would love another shot at both the second and the fourth goals, as those are not shots he lets into the net when he’s on top of his game.  I’m assuming they’ll go back to him on Monday, but he needs to be on top of his game with Pickard breathing down his neck.

Patrick Wiercioch (C+) – Up and down debut for Wiercioch.  The penalty he took in the first period was dumb, to say the least, but he made some nice plays in the offensive zone.  He’s good with the puck on his stick, but he’ll probably frustrate some fans over the year defensively.

Nikita Zadorov (B-) – Through two periods, Zadorov and EJ together was working really well, as both were above 65% possession, but with about 12 minutes left, they were separated.  Z made a poor read prior to the Stars 5th goal, and didn’t see the ice again, but hopefully he’s back with EJ on Monday night.  When Zadorov was on the ice against Benn and Seguin, those two didn’t register a single shot attempt.

The Avalanche hit the road to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champs on Monday night.  The game starts at 5 PM MST.