The Avalanche played a strong game, but were unable to beat Anders Lindback more than once, and got too sloppy in overtime, losing to the Arizona Coyotes 2-1.
How did each player perform? Let’s find out…
Tyson Barrie (D) – When Barrie isn’t pushing the pace forward most of the game, he gets himself in trouble. He tried to overhandle the puck too much at one point in the first period, and took a penalty soon after. He was also very sloppy in overtime, taking a few shifts that were far too long.
Francois Beauchemin (D) – I didn’t like Beauchemin’s game tonight. He flubbed a few passes at the point, and had two really bad icings in the third period, both of which were uncontested. He did almost win the game in overtime.
Blake Comeau (C-) – A very quiet night for the veteran, who didn’t register a single shot on net. He had a few nice hits and did play strong on the PK.
Matt Duchene (F) – Duchene has really slowed down lately, but tonight was ugly. He wasted a couple of 2 on 1’s in overtime by not using his greatest asset in his speed. He made poor decisions all night, but they were especially ugly in overtime.
Brandon Gormley (B) – Gormley had a really strong night in his return to the lineup, finishing with the best possession numbers among the Avs defenders. He almost scored the go ahead goal late in the game off a pinch.
Mikhail Grigorenko (B) – Another strong game for Grigorenko, with a 71% possession game. He had a nice chance in the first period, and fed Gormley for his chance late in the game.
Nick Holden (B-) – He had a few Holden moments, including an unnecessary icing in the third period, but threw a few big hits and actually made a really smart play in the third when he broke his stick in the defensive zone, and just batted the puck into the neutral zone with his hand.
Jarome Iginla (B) – Iginla had a really strong game, but his one big mistake did cost the Avs. He failed to get the puck in the offensive zone at center ice and 5 seconds later, the puck was in the Avs net. He did register 6 shots on goal tonight, which was great.
Erik Johnson (B+) – EJ was really flying tonight, joining the rush a lot and leading the rush up the ice a lot of the time. He’s at his best when he’s aggressive offensively.
Gabriel Landeskog (D) – I was happy to see him get physical and frustrate some Arizona players, but he didn’t create enough offensively and the top line struggled.
Nathan MacKinnon (B) – You want to see him be more aggressive in overtime by taking it to the net instead of feeding Tanguay, but MacK registered 6 shots tonight and his smooth stickhandling created Iginla’s goal.
Andreas Martinsen (B+) – Martinsen has been a different player since Roy scratched him a few weeks back. He’s now playing physical consistently, and using his frame to his advantage. He threw another big hit tonight, which caused Steve Downie to go after him in a fight.
Cody McLeod (B) – The 4th line was solid tonight, but McLeod’s greatest work tonight might have been assisting Martinsen during his fight with some pointers on the bench.
John Mitchell (F) – This happens all the time. Mitchell plays well in a limited role, then gets elevated to the top 6 and immediately looks out of place. He has no business centering any teams top line, and got exposed tonight with a poor possession game. He took some long shifts in overtime.
Zach Redmond (B) – Redmond played a strong game again. Poor decision making is what hurts him, but he’s really limited them the last two games.
Jack Skille (B-) – Skille had a great chance off the rush in the first period, then disappeared for the rest of the game, and was really quiet.
Carl Soderberg (C) – Not a great game for Soderberg, but one shift in particular was really tough for him. In the second period, he had a few turnovers on one shift alone, and then ended up taking a holding penalty because of one of his turnovers.
Alex Tanguay (B+) – Tanguay has looked really good the last few games playing with Iginla again. Roy has to continue to shelter those two.
Semyon Varlamov (B-) – Varlamov was solid tonight, but really wasn’t tested all that much with difficult chances. Stone’s goal might be one he wants back, but that was a bomb.
The Avs return to the ice tomorrow evening against the San Jose Sharks. The game starts at 8:30 PM MST.
