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.

0 Comments (12 conversations)
lilkater7
Yes. What on earth is going ON with Mikko?? Is it time to shake up the lines?
JDC15
The lines got shook up in the third and the results were obvious. Granted it happened because Soda was out and MacK got double shifted, but damn.
BigDee
I watched him closely at all times and wow, he is actually the worst player on the ice. I am guessing he has some kind of injury that is limiting him in certain ways. I am definitely not going to judge him on this, as there is no possible way a player could regress like this without some kind of medical issue.
SuperMario223
Landy A+ really? First line winger with only one point in a L game. Rants F really? Was he responsible for the Nashville goals or did he took many stupid penalties? Your grading sucks AJ. Please let Adrian or Jesse do thease from now on.
Oldford.Ryan
Did you watch the game? Rants was TERRRRRRIBLE… and landy was all over the ice..
mkleinholz
Rantanen has single handedly torpedoed our powerplay. Every pass that goes to him he fumbles and turns over. I’m looking for Bednar to replace him on PP1 in game 5 with anyone, but ideally Andrighetto or Kerfoot.
Greger Frog
92 was a man possessed last night, 96 needs an exorcism to rid him of whatever he’s got going on.
J. Fritts
Your comments suck SuperMario223. Please let others do the commenting from now on.
Nels
Ditto
K.Szela93
I like your grades AJ don’t worry. ❤️Rantanen has been flat out hurting the team and Landy has been an absolute beast with his two way play. Grades are spot on.
hockeyhacker5
I think Hammond deserved a good grade for stopping everything after coming in after two periods in a tough game and facing a powerplay. My buddy and I wanted him to start the game. His extra height might have allowed him to poke check Forsberg on that first goal. Different game if MacKinnon’s shot off the crossbar ties the game 1-1. I’d say that was his most dangerous play since he came about two inches from a goal.
gtq
It is amazing this series has been as competitive as it has been when you look at who we are sending out there on the blue line and in the nets. The ability to go deep in the playoffs in future years will require the following: (1) legitimate NHL defensemen, not a bevy of waiver wire pickups and AHL players (2) healthy NHL goaltenders and (3) lots of faceoff practice.
RadoYeti
Fo sho
MCraiger58
Imagine if Barbs and Nemeth were our 5-6 pairing rather than our 3-4 pairing, as it should be…
I have a feeling that Tyson Jost and Alexander Kerfoot are going to put in work in the offseason and look very improved as sophomores…
Lefseeter
Hammond looked good. Maybe he isn’t motivated in the AHL. You could also grade the crowd. Seemed pretty passionate despite what I read in the DP.
Nels
I totally agree about the Hamburgler. I like him. He could steal us a game in Nashville. Possibly even be our goalie of the future. I’m yet to hear any good arguments against him that involve his NHL numbers and play instead of his AHL numbers and play.
Dan G
I just don’t see how Bernier gets a C when he was the best player on the ice in period 1. If not for him it would have been 3-0 Preds. Also not sure how Barrie gets a grade as high as Bernier. He was really really bad, especially at the point. The “D” for Nemeth is generous and I’ll just have to trust you when you refer to any of the Avs D last night as “solid” based on underlying numbers ’cause the eye test says otherwise.
I can see giving Landy the A+ simply because of how he played in the 3rd and how he kept the team in it emotionally through a disastrous second. Plus that goal that got things going.
Overall love how these guys just don’t back down. Hartman should get an A+ for his tantrums. Reminds me of when my kids were 4. And to see PK reduced to being an emotional spark (plus plenty of quarterbacking) for his team rather than being able to wind up that deadly slapper from the point is rather impressive.
David C McKinnis
To say Barrie’s game is a mess is generous.
Colorado_Gary
Barrie was out for the 10 game winning streak. The Avs didn’t have to deal with the constant weak plays on the puck below the line. With Barrie, there are games where you just say Wow! (In a good way), but there’s the downside of weak defense and turnovers. With what Sam Girard has shown me I wouldn’t be opposed to moving Barrie.
Colorado_Gary
Good grades AJ. On to Friday boys! Be prepared! Hamburglar steals one!!
Sean
Is Rants playing hurt or concussed? He seems out of it and about a 1/2 second behind the play.