Avs Game 30 Grades - Big Division Win

The Avalanche used big games from Andreas Martinsen and Semyon Varlamov to hold off the Nashville Predators for a 3-2 win.

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

Tyson Barrie (C-) – Barrie can be a very frustrating player when he chooses not to shoot the puck.  He did that again a few times at even strength in the second period.  Then he goes and shoots the puck with no one in front of the net on the power play, so I’m not sure what his train of thought is.  When he finishes the game with 0 SOG, you know it probably wasn’t his best night.

Francois Beauchemin (B+) – Beauchemin unloaded a bomb to get the Avs started tonight, and made a nice pinch and did well to get his shot through on the game winning goal.

Blake Comeau (B+) – His line was the only one with positive possession numbers for the Avs.  Comeau won’t get a point on the game winner, but he did feed Beauchemin and stop the clearing attempt from the Predators.

Matt Duchene (B) – Duchene was the only one who got the memo to shoot the puck tonight, especially in the second period.  He had a few nice chances tonight that were stopped by Rinne, and he struck iron at the end of the second period off a nice wrist shot.

Brandon Gormley (C+) – Gormley didn’t even hit 10 minutes tonight, but he was steady when out there.  He did a nice job using his reach to break up a cycle in the first period, and ended a rush in the second period with good gap control.

Mikhail Grigorenko (C) – A very quiet night for Grigorenko, for the most part.  He does a really nice job hitting MacKinnon and Duchene with speed in the neutral zone.

Nate Guenin (C) – Tonight was a quiet night for Guenin, which is a good thing for the Avs, because he didn’t hurt his team.

Nick Holden (B) – His possession numbers were not great, but Holden scored a goal very similar to the ones he scored 2 years ago, by sneaking up in the rush.  He also made a really nice end to end rush early in the game.

Jarome Iginla (F) – I just don’t know what this guy provides for this team right now.  I was very happy Roy took him off the first power play, but I wouldn’t even have him on the power play at all.  He let his man get off the one timer that tied the game for the Predators.  If it was up to me, he’d be scratched when Landeskog returns, but that’s unlikely.

Erik Johnson (B-) – EJ had a few nice rushes tonight, but also made some questionable decisions.

Nathan MacKinnon (D) – I don’t really know what’s going on with Nate, but he hasn’t looked very good lately, and didn’t look good at all tonight.  The Avs need him to be better to make a run.

Andreas Martinsen (A) – I haven’t liked his game this year, for the most part.  However, if he plays like tonight, then I won’t be doing much complaining about him.  The hit he threw on Jackman early in the game set the tone for the Avs, and he was physical all night.  If he uses his size effectively and doesn’t lose battles to smaller players, he can be really effective.  Nice hand-eye coordination on his goal.

Cody McLeod (D) – The 4th line was awful tonight, and McLeod took a dumb penalty on top of that.

John Mitchell (C) – A nice rush on the Avs second goal, but unfortunately he’s saddled with two very slow and ineffective players right now.  He was good on the PK, other than a failed clear or two.

Jack Skille (D) – He was only on the ice for a single shot attempt by the Avs, and was very quiet tonight.

Carl Soderberg (A-) – It’s really hard not to like the way Soderberg is playing right now, especially since he’s winning more faceoffs.  His calmness and skill with the puck has been great of late.

Alex Tanguay (C-) – The pass he made on the Holden goal was vintage Tanguay, but he got crushed otherwise, as he was on the ice for a team high 21 shot attempts against at even strength.  When you consider that was in only 9 minutes, it’s a bit scary.

Semyon Varlamov (A) – Is it too early to say that Varly is back?  That’s now 4 consecutive great games from Varlamov, and he was huge tonight, especially on the penalty kill.

Chris Wagner (F) – He wasn’t on the ice for a single shot attempt at the Nashville net, and was out there way too long for the Predators first goal, allowing his man to go to the net very easily.

The Avs are back on the ice tomorrow night as they face off against the St. Louis Blues in St. Louis.  The game starts at 4 PM MST.