Avs-Blackhawks Grades: Varly returns in style

The Colorado Avalanche topped the Chicago Blackhawks 5-0 in their final meeting of the season. Below are player grades!

Mark Alt (B+) — Is…is Mark Alt good?

Sven Andrighetto (A+) – A much needed really strong game for Andrighetto, not only in terms of secondary scoring but he needed it for himself. He’s been visibly frustrated with his injury problems this season and a game like this can only mean good things for his confidence level. He was the best player on the ice for a lot of the first period and scored a highlight reel goal on the power play, then added another late in the game.

Tyson Barrie (A) – It seems like that in order to get the most out of Tyson Barrie all you have to do is take Erik Johnson out of the lineup. Three more points tonight for Barrie tonight to go along with solid defensive play. There’s a legitimate top pair defenseman living inside of Barrie, and we’ve gotten a glimpse of it recently.

Jonathan Bernier (C) – He came in when his team had a 4-0 lead and didn’t have to do much of anything in the six minutes he played.

Gabriel Bourque (C) – It’s honestly hard to think of anything memorable that he did. Which is fine, that means there were no glaring mistakes.

Blake Comeau (C) – Seeing as the Avs were never shorthanded in this game, Comeau was very much just a guy in this game. His line struggled to generate much offensively.

J.T. Compher (C+) – To nobody’s surprise, JT Compher had multiple chances to score tonight, and didn’t convert. He gets the “+” because of the feistiness he showed in the second period.

Samuel Girard (B) – I really liked Girard tonight. He got an assist on Andrighetto’s first goal and had a few other dangerous chances in the offensive zone. The 19-year-old logged over 20 minutes of ice time with Johnson out of the lineup.

Tyson Jost (C+) – I already had Jost’s grade written out after the second period… and it was not good. But then he finished off a nice passing play in the third to give himself 10 goals on the season. Give him credit for bouncing back in the final frame.

Alexander Kerfoot (B) – Kerfoot looked like he had his wheels back tonight. He was moving well and distributing the puck. Kerfoot playing with Jost and Andrighetto has the potential to be a legitimate second line for the Avs.

Gabriel Landeskog (B-) – An assist on the power play and his line was pretty dangerous throughout the game. He did fumble away a pass that would have lead to a mini-breakaway.

Nathan MacKinnon (B) – Was looking for the pass too often tonight, had a couple really good chances to shoot a dangerous shot but opted to look elsewhere. His pass to set up Rantanen’s goal was world class. He was also robbed of a penalty shot in the second.

Patrik Nemeth (C) — Nemeth really shines on the penalty kill and that was something he didn’t have to do tonight. He was very much just a regular guy out there. 

Matt Nieto (C) – Matt Nieto is a set of hands away from being a really good NHLer.

Mikko Rantanen (B+) – His line was good, and he was the one who scored, so he gets the “+”.

Carl Soderberg (C) – See Blake Comeau.

Semyon Varlamov (A+) – He was spectacular, no other way to put it. There’s something about Chicago that brings out the absolute best in Varly. Tonight was maybe the cruelest way to rob him of a credited shutout, however. He left the game late in the third and was putting very little weight on his leg.

David Warsofsky (C) – He had one good play walking the offensive zone blue line.

Nail Yakupov (B) – I actually really liked Yakupov tonight, I thought this was one of his better games this season. He was aggressive, he was dangerous and didn’t have any glaringly bad turnovers or mistakes.

Nikita Zadorov (B) – Seven more hits for Big Z. He played really well, and really physical tonight. Had a couple chances in the O-zone where you’d like to see him hit the net, but in a 5-0 game, those don’t come back to bite you.