Avs-Predators Game Four Grades: Heartbreak hotel

The Colorado Avalanche lost 3- 2 to the Nashville Predators. Below are player grades.

Sven Andrighetto (D) – There were some dangerous offensive moments but it was miscues that stood out the most. Twice on the power play, he let pucks get away from him that turned into problems the other direction. That’s high-quality failure in every way.

Mark Barberio (B-) – There wasn’t anything special about his game tonight but the numbers don’t lie: At even strength, Colorado had 18 shots for, just 10 against. He was solid.

Tyson Barrie (C-) – Too many turnovers, too many wasted power plays, too many blown opportunities. They aren’t all Barrie’s fault, of course, but he had yet another underwhelming game. His assist on Landeskog’s goal was great so props there. The rest of his game was a mess.

Jonathan Bernier (C) – Not grading Hammond on this one but Bernier gave us enough work to grade on. He gave up all three goals. He seemed helpless on the Forsberg goal and the Smith goal was the kind of goal he’s given up several times in this series and it’s very stoppable. He was great in the first, though, and kept it from being a multi-goal deficit after one period.

Gabriel Bourque (C) – An odd night for this line. Bourque turned down a great scoring chance in favor of a cutesy pass. It did not go well. Beyond that, quiet night for him personally.

Blake Comeau (C+) –  He was solid and he was instrumental in the second Colorado goal. Whether or not his participation was legal or not is in the eye of the beholder.

J.T. Compher (C-) – This is a tough grade because the shot metrics are all positive for Compher tonight but he was a negative three. That shows the weakness of the stat as two of those goals were solo shows. His turnover arguably helped create the Forsberg goal (note the word “arguably”).

Tyson Jost (C+) – A great assist to Landeskog and his line was dangerous at times tonight. A big change for them.

Alexander Kerfoot (B-) – The goal was huge and he continues to show he can be part of the secondary scoring the team will look for in the future. He’s a player.

Gabriel Landeskog (A+) – The goal was more the work of his teammates as he was just the guy standing there to tap in the puck but his all-around game continued to be excellent. We’ve seen a crazy impressive Landeskog in the postseason.

Nathan MacKinnon (B+) – He took a handful of shots and his most dangerous play was a one-man show where he walked the Nashville defense but the puck rolled on him just as he went to shoot. It was that kind of night for him.

Patrik Nemeth (D) – Dumb penalty off the hop set the tone for early Nashville dominance. They capitalized.

Matt Nieto (C+) – Credited with the primary assist on Kerfoot’s goal, so his night wasn’t a total wash. Beyond that, Nieto was quiet.

Mikko Rantanen (F) – His line has been dangerous at even strength despite his struggles. The power play has been non-existent largely BECAUSE of his struggles. That’s a huge problem.

Duncan Siemens (D-) – I wouldn’t normally give a grade to a guy with so little ice time but Forsberg lit him up and put him on the wrong end of a bad highlight. He didn’t get enough time to make up for it.

Carl Soderberg (C) – While he came back after a nasty hit to the head from Hartman, his health moving forward is the biggest takeaway from this game.

David Warsofsky (INC) – 6:59 of ice time for a defenseman is non-existent.

Colin Wilson (C) – His hitting the post in the final minutes is the lasting image of a furious Avalanche comeback that just fell short.

Nikita Zadorov (B-) –He was solid if unspectacular. Another point and three more hits to boot. He was steady and reliable, which is huge with the coaching staff basically only rolling two pairings tonight.