The Avalanche went to Winnipeg and lost again to the Jets, keeping intact their last victory there coming in the Grover Cleveland Administration. Let’s break the game down individually:
Gabe Landeskog (A+) – Two goals, four shots on goal, won 9-of-10 faceoffs, great puck-possession numbers. He was certainly not the reason the Avs lost tonight. Should have had a hat trick, it not for the damn goal posts.
Nathan MacKinnon (B+) – Two assists, four shots on net, 21 Corsi events for, 12 against. Not the reason the Avs lost tonight. Also victimized by the damn posts.
Mikko Rantanen (B) – Not the reason they lost either, but just an OK night for the Funny Finn Phenom. He was engaged and did some really skillful things, but the results weren’t quite there for him individually.
J.T. Compher (C) – No points, only two of the Avs’ 41 shots on goal. He’s one of the guys the Avs depend on to chip in offensively occasionally, but it didn’t happen tonight.
Tyson Jost (D) – Only played 12 minutes, didn’t contribute offensively and took a penalty that led to one of Winnipeg’s two power-play goals. He’s gotta be more consistent.
Alexander Kerfoot (C-) – No points, lost four of five faceoffs. But hey, he was a plus-1.
Matt Calvert (B) – Perfectly respectable effort, with an assist and four shots on net. He’s been part of a PK unit that’s given up a lot of goals lately, but I think the onus was a bit more on the goaltender tonight.
Carl Soderberg (B+) – A goal and assist for Carl, plus four penalty minutes and not great numbers in the faceoff dot (2-for-9). Not his fault they lost tonight though.
Matt Nieto (B) – Great puck-possession numbers (21-6 Corsi) and three shots on net. Just, nothing to show for it offensively. Not his fault they lost though.
Sheldon Dries (C) – On the ice for two Winnipeg goals, despite playing only nine minutes. But he blocked four shots.
Sven Andrighetto (C-) – Just can’t seem to be even a semi-consistent offensive contributor this year. Just didn’t notice him much. He did get three shots on goal.
Logan O’Connor (D) – Hasn’t made much of a noticeable impact to much of anything yet. Hard to expect that from a guy playing only 5-8 minutes a night, but he’s got to find a way to make some kind of difference out there once in a while.
Erik Johnson (B+) – Had the puck on his stick a lot tonight, added an assist, was involved in much of the action. Not his fault they lost tonight.
Sam Girard (C+) – Another perfectly respectable game, but one in which you kind of went “I think he’s capable of so much more.” He also had negative puck-possession numbers. Avs need a big game from him somehow.
Tyson Barrie (A) – Two assists, six shots on goal, great puck-possession numbers. Certainly not the reason they lost tonight.
Ian Cole (B-) – I thought he was a little slow in reacting on the first couple of Winnipeg goals, but overall his numbers were pretty good and he wasn’t the reason why they lost tonight.
Patrik Nemeth (C+) – Puck-possession numbers suggested a very good game (19-7 Corsi), but I thought he was overall just OK. Puck bounced between his skates just prior to one goal.
Ryan Graves (B+) – Scored his second goal in as many games, plus blocked a couple of shots. Only played 11 minutes. Give him more ice time!
Philipp Grubauer (F) – Yeah, he pretty much was the reason they lost. He faced only 20 shots in the game, and allowed six goals. He just hasn’t been able to string a couple good games together for quite a while now. His saves percentage is .895, with a 3.29 goals-against average.

0 Comments (7 conversations)
jttthenutt
Best.
Title.
Ever.
Nels
I was thinking “Wet Toilet Paper Grubauer” but yeah, gruesome is also accurate.
DP10
Isn’t it ironic that at the beginning of the year, some heralded the Avs goalie pairing as one of the best in the league!
But more fundamentally it seems the Avs keep finding new ways to lose while actually also being quite competitive…
StormSlab
Cole seemed as responsible as Gruby on goals 1&2. The first goal was dreadful teaming up with Nemeth on a 1 on 1 and letting the second man break in clean. Same situation as the Barrie-Rants GA where the coverage was lost, so perhaps systems/coaching are to blame. Second Cole Goal was PK, but that’s his man who scored.
Also not to pile on, but has Jost not been consistent this year? Consistent and good are not mutually exclusive…
Hozfu
Cole was brutal. Looked slow and essentially gave up to goals
rb9cms
I know he is a professional, but new team, new conference, somewhat shaky D play in front of him. Grubi MUST be a better goalie than we’ve seen. My sense is he will have an up and down season and settle to a more good and consistent tender next year when all the newness is a year behind him. If not, Avs have a major problem (obviously).
schneids10
Disagree with Coles grade, those first two goals are really his fault and only his fault! Not sure why Jost gets a worse grade than his line mates when he was the only one to me who was aggressive on the forecheck and drew a penalty also
Markk
Why B+ for Mack? He deserves at least an A. Two assists, good Corsi, and really drove the play. Why does he get a B+ but Barrie gets an A?