Avs-Red Wings Grades: What rivalry?

The Colorado Avalanche topped the Detroit Red Wings to sweep the season series. Below are player grades!

Sven Andrighetto (B-) – Andrighetto was dangerous again today, ringing one shot off the post and having a couple other good chances. In total, he took seven shots today. He’s exactly the kind of player this team has needed beyond the top line. If he keeps creating like this, points should follow.

Tyson Barrie (B+) – Barrie set an Avalanche record by scoring in his tenth consecutive game, the longest by a defenseman since the team moved to Denver. He did it on a goal that will be meaningful in goal differential tiebreakers only but he played a hell of a game beyond just the goal.

Gabriel Bourque (F) – Spoiler: the entire fourth line is getting an ‘F’ from me today. A touch harsh maybe but they were not good. Bourque’s lack of puck skill was even more glaring than normal today.

Blake Comeau (B+) – Great work on the goal and he was active all over the ice throughout the game. The Avs are very hard to beat when his line plays like it did today.

J.T. Compher (C+) – He was better defensively than offensively but today was a good reminder of how high his ceiling is as a two-way contributor, something that will be very important for the Avalanche if they make the postseason.

Samuel Girard (C-) – I thought Girard was pretty bad at times today. Obviously, his biggest mistake was the breakout attempt that turned into a great Varlamov save. He struggled throughout. Loved him getting the assist at the end.

Erik Johnson (B+) – He was limited in his ice time, clearly trying not to overdo it today. He was effective throughout the game and his defense was a legitimate boon to a back end that needed some help.

Tyson Jost (C+) – I really liked the jump this line played with. He made an excellent pass near the end of the game that could have been an assist for him with a little help. Encouraging to see Colorado’s depth players treat a bad opponent like one.

Vladislav Kamenev (F) – This is especially harsh given it’s just his fourth NHL game ever and just his fourth since returning from missing several months with an injury. He simply wasn’t effective today. He should be staying in the lineup, though.

Alexander Kerfoot (F) – He needs a night off, as I’ve said a handful of times in this space previously. He was awful today and his defensive problems contributed to the only goal against but it could have easily been at least two more. A terrible day for AK13.

Gabriel Landeskog (A+) – A masterclass performance from the top line once again. Landeskog enjoyed a nice three-point game and stuffed the box score as is normal when he’s locked in. He just might be headed towards his second career 60-point season.

Nathan MacKinnon (A+) – If he doesn’t win the Hart, it’s because a bunch of hockey writers did something really dumb.

Patrik Nemeth (C+) – It’s incredible he has the points he does because he has absolutely no offensive instincts. He turned several intriguing offensive sets into Detroit possessions or puck battles because he has no creativity and no confidence. But he’s really, really good on the penalty kill and is physical and disruptive down low and that’s lacking overall on this blueline.

Matt Nieto (B) – Came so, so close to another chip goal on a centering pass from Soderberg. Had a great assist on their play through center ice. A really strong complementary effort.

Mikko Rantanen (A+) – His two assists today tied him with Sidney Crosby in points. If there’s one thing hurting the MacKinnon candidacy for Hart, it’s Rantanen turning into a top-15 scorer.

Carl Soderberg (A) – He was awesome today. Creating tons of pressure on offense, playing with a mean streak defensively, was strong on the PK like he normally is and he could have had a multi-point effort with just a little help. He’s a rock for the Avs.

Semyon Varlamov (A+) – It started off slowly for him but he ended up making 37 saves, another great performance by him. Behind MacKinnon, he’s MVP number 2 for this club right now. 

David Warsofsky (D+) – I saw a few nice small plays from him today but too frequently he gets overpowered and the puck taken from him, both offensively and defensively. Given he’s the clear-cut sixth man on this unit, you’re just glad when you get through a game without him costing you a goal. They could replace him with any of their other scratched defensemen and it would be fine.

Nikita Zadorov (C+) – His puck management was not good today and he was deeply negative in shot metrics on a day where he went +4, reminding you again why plus-minus is a silly statistic. He recovered from a whiffed shot attempt well and earned an assist on the play so it wasn’t all bad for Z today. He also doled out seven more hits, which is fun to watch.