Avs Game 26 Grades - Big Win in the Big Apple

The Avalanche used two big second period goals to take the momentum of the game, and they were able to hold on for a big 2-1 victory against the New York Rangers.

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

Tyson Barrie (B) – Barrie was joining the play a lot early in the game, but he wasn’t getting much out of it, and was frustrating me with his unwillingness to shoot the puck in the offensive zone.  At least twice he carried it down the right wing and instead of shooting, took it behind the net, which led to nothing.  He made a great stretch pass on Chris Wagner‘s opening goal, and was good in his own end tonight.

Francois Beauchemin (B+) – Beauchemin got buried possession wise tonight, but I don’t recall any dangerous chances while he was on the ice.  The team more or less turtled in the third period, and he was out there a lot to end the game.

Blake Comeau (C+) – Comeau has been bringing the nasty a lot lately, and his hit at the end of the first period kind of set the tone for the second period for the Avs.  Other than that, his line didn’t create a whole lot and was in their end most of the game.

Matt Duchene (B) – How confident is Duchene right now?  In past years, he probably would have tried to pass it back to Landeskog on that 2 on 1.  Tonight, he got the puck and wasted no time putting it in the net.  That line had another off night, but all Duchene needed was that one chance.

Brandon Gormley (B) – Gormley had the best possession numbers on the team tonight, and I thought his second period was his best period this season.  He’s struggled with getting outmuscled lately and in that period, he was winning all his battles defensively, to go with moving the puck quickly and efficiently.  Consistency is the next step for his game.

Mikhail Grigorenko (B) – After a great opening shift in the offensive zone, his line spent a lot of time in the defensive zone.  However, Grigorenko battled extremely hard defensively, and didn’t give up much in terms of chances.  He made a great steal in the neutral zone off a strong backcheck, which created an odd man rush for the Avs in the third period.

Nate Guenin (C+) – By his standards, he had a solid night.  He threw a nice hit at the blueline to stand up the Rangers and force them offsides, and didn’t hurt his team tonight.

Nick Holden (B) – As has been the case most nights, a lot of things happen when Holden and Barrie are on the ice.  They’re on the ice for a lot of shot attempts for, and give up a lot of shot attempts against.  Tonight was one of those nights, but as has been mentioned with other players, the Avs didn’t give up a lot of high quality scoring chances this evening.

Jarome Iginla (C) – Iginla showed some spunk in the first period, but slowed down as the night went on.  He had a chance off a great kick pass from Tanguay early in the game but wasn’t able to bury it.  He was clearly the passenger on that line.

Erik Johnson (B-) – I think every Avs fan had their heart skip a beat after EJ took a skate to the face in the second period.  Somehow, he missed only a shift or two, and was able to come back and help his team.  He was out there way too long at the end of the game, and gave Lindberg too much space in front of the net on the Rangers only goal.

Gabriel Landeskog (A-) – Tonight was one of those nights where Landeskog did a lot of little things to help his team.  His backchecking was superb, and he battled hard to get the puck free for Duchene’s goal.

Nathan MacKinnon (C+) – It was a rather pedestrian game for MacKinnon.  He did show off his great speed in the third period but was unable to bury his breakaway.  He took a shot off the foot late in the third and appeared to be in a lot of pain, but took another shift at the end of the game.

Cody McLeod (B-) – I’ll be honest and say that I barely paid attention to McLeod’s fight, as I don’t have much interest in watching two tough guys go at it for no reason.  I didn’t like that the fight happened when the Avs were carrying the puck into the offensive zone.  Other than that, McLeod was solid tonight.

John Mitchell (C+) – I don’t like that Mitchell isn’t shooting the puck much, but it’s hard to ignore the impact he has on this team.  His presence allows other players to move down the lineup.

Jack Skille (B+) – For the second straight game, Skille made a terrific pass that led directly to a goal.  This time, it was a tip pass to Wagner that sprung the Avs.  I also liked his play in the third period where he knew his team was tired and needed an offensive zone faceoff, so he shot the puck into Raanta’s chest, making him freeze it.  That’s smart hockey.

Carl Soderberg (B-) – Soderberg was good in the faceoff circle tonight, winning 5 of his 6 draws, and helped Landeskog get the puck free prior to Duchene’s goal.

Alex Tanguay (B-) – He looked better tonight than he did the majority of the start of the season.  That kick pass he made to Iginla in the first period was beautiful.

Semyon Varlamov (A) – He really didn’t have to deal with much in terms of difficult shots, but he stopped almost everything, and that’s all that matters.  He did make some big saves at the end of the second period when the Rangers had a power play.

Chris Wagner (B+) – This guy is definitely not Marc-Andre Cliche, that’s for sure.  Already with 3 goals in his brief tenure with the Avs, and brings a lot of energy when he’s on the ice.

The Avs continue their road trip as they head to Minnesota to take on the Wild Saturday night.  The game starts at 6 PM MST.