Avs-Blackhawks Grades: Road woes continue

The Colorado Avalanche fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in a 2-1 overtime nail-biter. Below are the player grades!

Tyson Barrie (B) – Barrie was really good tonight. I don’t have any issues with how he played Kane in overtime. That was a great pass and a great finish and for me, it doesn’t diminish from what was a rock solid night from Barrie. He was all over the ice and shots heavily favored the Avalanche when he was out there.

Gabriel Bourque (B) – I thought that fourth line had a strong night. Bourque was feisty tonight and I think he can sense his job security slipping with several injured players getting healthy. Efforts like tonight will help keep him in the lineup.

Blake Comeau (C) – This was a big meh for me. I wasn’t really impressed with this line and Comeau had a pretty sleepy night overall. They broke about even in shot metrics so it’s a good sign to have a mediocre night and still do your job.

J.T. Compher (B) – Still failed to finish some great scoring chances but I loved his game tonight. He was all over the place and was on the ice for more scoring chances than any other forward on the Avs. The only thing he was missing was points, which was too bad with him playing in front of his friends and family from his hometown.

Samuel Girard (B-) – I know somebody is rolling their eyes right now saying these grades are too high for a team that just lost a game but I don’t feel like the Avs played nearly as poorly as so many others did. And I thought Girard was fun tonight, even though the shot metrics were only okay. I thought he was moving well and doing what he needed to. The execution is the only thing that kept him from a higher grade.

Tyson Jost (C) – There were some good moments tonight mixed in with a lot of meh. It was okay for him.

Alexander Kerfoot (C) – He’s been real quiet for a while now and that’s a concern but you knew he would likely begin to wear down at this time of year. He’s already played twice as much hockey as he ever did at Harvard and that fatigue is definitely a factor in his recent struggles. Still, his struggles are producing competitive nights, not complete no-shows. That’s a very positive sign.

Gabriel Landeskog (D) – He got a gift assist but otherwise wasn’t very good. He had a point-blank scoring opportunity, arguably Colorado’s best all game, and he jammed it right into Berube’s pads. For a 20-goal guy, he sure does seem to waste a lot of great scoring chances.

Anton Lindholm (D) – I thought this pairing was pretty bad tonight. Lindholm and Siemens are too similar in their strengths and weaknesses to continue together long term. You have to hope Mark Barberio or Erik Johnson gets healthy sooner than later so this arranged marriage can end.

Nathan MacKinnon (C-) – Great goal, terrible defense in overtime losing Toews like that. Nowhere near good enough at even strength, regardless of what line Bednar saddled him with.

Patrik Nemeth (D-) – He’s had a pretty decent stretch lately but tonight was a big step back for him. Not competitive, terrible with the puck, got turned inside out on multiple occasions and would have been on the wrong end of a highlight had Saad’s goal not been disallowed. Rough night for him.

Matt Nieto (C) – Meeeeeeeeh.

Mikko Rantanen (D) – Thought he followed up a strong game against Nashville with a pretty poor performance in Chicago. He didn’t handle his assignment well and was a non-factor on the power play.

Duncan Siemens (D) – This is just a continuation of my thoughts from Lindholm’s great but these guys play poorly enough together that giving Mark Alt a game seems appealing at this point. It’s not that either player was bad on his own and more that they bring out the worst in each other and that’s a legitimate problem. O where art thou, Mark Barberio?

Carl Soderberg (C-) – Dumb penalty in the third to take, though it was amusing watching him look at his hands in the penalty box like he’d never seen them before. I wonder what he was thinking.

Dominic Toninato (B-) – I gave all the other fourth line guys props and I thought Toninato deserved them as well. A strong night for him, even if no offense was produced, which is a disturbingly familiar outcome.

Semyon Varlamov (B+) – Only goals given up were a silly deflection off Nemeth’s skate and a world-class play from Kane and Toews in overtime. Chicago Varlamov is the best Varlamov.

Nikita Zadorov (C+) – A strong night for big Z but not spectacular. I love when he activates offense. His defense was a bit sloppy at times and again too casual for my liking in some situations but he ultimately held his own.

Nail Yakupov (C) – If you allow yourself freedom from expectations, he really is a fun player to watch. He buzzes around the ice, handles the puck way too much, and makes totally inexplicable decisions that just leave you confused at times. A real roller coaster to watch every night. Had some big blasts on the power play that would have been nice had they gone in but that’s not the universe we live in.