Avs-Blackhawks Grades: Bye, Bye Blackhawks

The Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 Tuesday night. Below are player grades!

Sven Andrighetto (B-) – Hit another post tonight. Could have had multiple points as he and Jost have found instant chemistry together. A line to watch moving forward.

Tyson Barrie (A) – Continued his point streak with two more tonight. Great breakout and driving the net opened the ice for the second Colorado goal.

Gabriel Bourque (C+) – I didn’t notice him much tonight but that’s certainly not a bad thing for a guy of his ilk. Just quietly went about his business. Picked up the nice garbage time assist to Kerfoot. Hard to pull him from the lineup at this point.

Blake Comeau (C-) – Missed Soderberg quite a bit tonight. Without his wingman, Comeau looked a lot more like the limited guy he really is. Got beat up badly in shot metrics.

J.T. Compher (C+) – Playing near his hometown really brings out a fun side of Compher. Didn’t get on the scoreboard at all but he played a damn fine game. Effective in both ends and really was a solid presence throughout. He’s come on strong lately.

Samuel Girard (C+) – The shot metrics were poor tonight but I really liked what I saw from Girard. He was feisty defensively, engaging a handful of times physically, and he was aggressive on offense, a change in his game that will open up his scoring potential a lot more.

Erik Johnson (B) – He returned to eating big minutes against tough matchups tonight after a one-game easing back into the lineup. He was solid throughout and his empty-netter at the end was a nice way to seal it.

Tyson Jost (B-) – If he or Andrighetto could just finish something, this game would have been more like 7 or 8 goals for Colorado. They created a number of quality scoring chances together and they are on the verge of busting out in a big way.

Alexander Kerfoot (A+) – Speaking of busting out, how about this guy, eh? I’ve been using this space to say he needs to sit for a while but Bednar kept with him and gave him opportunities tonight and he scored two goals to rewards his coach’s faith.

Gabriel Landeskog (B+) – Did not score but played a very effective all-around game. It can feel like gets lost in the shuffle of his linemates and their high-scoring but his three hits and four blocked shots tonight speak to his ability to contribute his ways his linemates do not.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – Two more points tonight and he just keeps carrying this team. There isn’t much to say at this point except update his point totals and appreciate greatness unfolding in front of you.

Patrik Nemeth (D+) – Really struggled tonight. His puck management is always suspect but there was one play in particular where he had no idea there was a man behind him chasing a puck and that kind of awareness makes you really nervous as Bednar continues to lean heavily on him. Despite his struggles, found his way to five blocked shots.

Matt Nieto (C-) – I’ve said it before but Nieto is just the thinnest margin from being a very good NHL player. Had a great scoring chance tonight but otherwise spent most of his night chasing the puck.

Mikko Rantanen (A) – Another ho-hum multi-point night. He has a shot at 30 goals this year.

Dominic Toninato (C-) – He got crushed in the role he was asked to play. He’s been good in shot metrics as a 4C but elevating him beyond that a bit tonight really exposed his limitations. It wasn’t his minute as much as his matchups and that was simply too much for him. Hope Soderberg comes back healthy in a hurry.

Semyon Varlamov (A+) – Chicago Varly is the best Varly. He keeps his outstanding March going.

David Warsofsky (D) – He stuck an assist in garbage time and will probably stay in the lineup but my goodness is he a high-wire act. He’s like Barrie in that he tries to do too much offensively but he’s not like Barrie in that he badly struggles to handle NHL speed. He was a mess again tonight.

Colin Wilson (C+) – He returned to the lineup and contributed an assist on Kerfoot’s first goal. He was solid and steady, as he usually is. His minutes were limited and he looked fine overall.

Nikita Zadorov (C+) – He still played more than Girard and Warsofsky despite only playing two shifts in the first period thanks to a big hit from Andreas Martinsen. He was solid and effective in the final two periods. Steady Zadorov is a scary Zadorov for opposing teams.