The Avalanche were asleep for the first two periods, but turned their game around in the third period, and huge plays from their two big free agent pickups gave them the 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, spoiling the return of Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn.

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

Tyson Barrie (B-) – Barrie had his moments of up and down play tonight, but like most of the team, had some shining moments in the third.  Two that stood out to me were a backdoor pass across the ice to his pinching partner Nick Holden, and a zone entry on the power play where he stickhandled through the entire Sabres team.

Francois Beauchemin (A) – The team was not very good the first two periods but he was one of the few standouts.  As mentioned before, he’s been a nice calming presence for Zadorov.  Great vision to see Soderberg in the slot on the tying goal, and a smart decision to let the puck rip with traffic in front for the game winner.

Chris Bigras (C) – I feel really bad for the guy.  Isn’t the rookie supposed to have a babysitter, not the other way around?  His partner was awful, and Bigras had to cover for him a lot.  The penalty he took in the first didn’t even look that bad.

Blake Comeau (D) – Comeau had a rough night with the puck.  I’m not sure he connected on a tape to tape pass all night long.  He does get props for crushing McGinn just seconds into the game.  The rest of the night was not good for him.

Matt Duchene (D) – The first two periods were really bad for Duchene, and when he had a chance to bury it at the end of the game on a nice pass from MacKinnon, he shot it right into Lehner’s chest.

Mikhail Grigorenko (B+) – Grigorenko had some serious jump against his old team, but saw very little ice time.  Despite that, he still had 3 shots on goal, and almost got the game winner but it trickled wide.

Nick Holden (B) – I’m not so sure it’s a fluke, Nick Holden looks like he might have really turned a corner in his career.  Credit to the Avalanche organization for that extension.  It looked like it might be ugly at this time last year, but right now, they’ve got a top 4 defenseman for 1.65 million.

Jarome Iginla (F) – On the radio this morning, Tom Nalen told Patrick Roy that Iginla looked ageless.  Tonight, he looked older than 38 years old.  He was slow and very easy to knock off the puck all night long.

Gabriel Landeskog (C) – Although he was pretty quiet offensively, I thought Landy had a strong game defensively tonight, and has looked better the last two games.

Nathan MacKinnon (D) – Ugly first two periods for him, like Duchene, but had much more jump in the third.  The puck could not sit still on his stick for most of the night.

Andreas Martinsen (F) – Has this guy’s game fallen off a cliff, or what?  He’s not as noticeable physically, and he’s struggling to make simple plays with the puck.  The Avs have told the guy to find a place in Denver to live, but he’s not playing like someone who should have a permanent spot.

Cody McLeod (C) – I didn’t really notice McLeod all night.  That’s fine, as he didn’t hurt the team.

John Mitchell (F) – You cannot say the same for McLeod’s linemate, though.  Turnovers all over the place for Mitchell, who was trying way too hard to be fancy through the neutral zone and it burned him more than a few times.  He had a really bad turnover in the second that led to a breakaway for the Sabres because the Avs D was changing.  He needs to be smarter.

Zach Redmond (F) – With Erik Johnson returning soon, Redmond’s turnovers were on full display all night long.  An awful one in the neutral zone early in the night that forced Bigras to take a penalty, and then an even worse one in the third period on an attempted stretch pass.  He compounded the problem when he whiffed on Eichel, forcing a 2 on 1 the Avs way.

Jack Skille (C+) – Skille did nice to get some shots off tonight, but none of them were really any problem for Lehner, as at least two of them were directly into his chest.

Carl Soderberg (B) – 66% in the faceoff circle.  65% possession game.  A beautiful play leading to the tying goal.  The guy just keeps getting better and better.

Alex Tanguay (C-) – He scored a goal and an assist tonight, but he was so awful for most of the night that even a C- is pushing it.  There were so many lazy plays by him at the defensive blueline tonight that led to extended zone time in the Avs end.  It was nice of him to contribute in the third, but it was really ugly most of the night.

Semyon Varlamov (A) – The Avs were not good for the first two periods, and Varly kept them in it.  He made a huge save while the Avs were sleeping on the power play early in the third that could have easily changed the game.

Nikita Zadorov (B-) – You have to deal with the good and the bad with Zadorov, at this point.  He had a huge hit his first shift, then got caught another shift stepping up in the neutral zone, only to have Beauchemin bail him out.  He ended up with the best possession numbers among the Avs D, and considering he’s playing a role that he’s not ready for against the other teams best lines, that’s pretty decent.

The Avs continue their mini home stand against the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.  The game starts at 7 PM MST.