Avs-Blackhawks player grades: One step closer

Andrew Agozzino (C-) – I can’t say I honestly noticed Agozzino much in his limited ice time. He was negative in shot share so I’m giving him the slight minus since I have nothing else to really work from here.

Sven Andrighetto (A-) – Andrighetto got beat up in shot share and that matters but he also scored the game-winning goal and boy that’s pretty important, too. He actually had a great shift right before Chicago’s first goal as he was all over the place attacking the puck.

Tyson Barrie (B-) – It’s a little cold-blooded to say his biggest contribution in the game was getting sticked in the face to put the Avs on an extended 5 on 3 PP but that was a game-changing sequence of events. He didn’t score today but I actually really liked some of his defensive work. I thought he had a solid all-around performance.

Gabriel Bourque (B) – He had a couple of small moments in big situations that were clear reminders of why Bednar likes him in the lineup. He had a mini-breakaway in the early going but couldn’t get a shot off but his best moments were defensively. With a Chicago PP over, they were still pressing offensively and Bourque’s active stick knocked a puck to center ice and the Avs were able to get a full change and fresh legs to defend. It’s the little stuff he has to do well and today I thought was one of Bourque’s best games.

Derick Brassard (C-) – I thought Brassard was honestly terrible today. The ENG boosts this up a bit and it was smart of him not to get cute and try to pass to MacKinnon and just finish it off himself but the rest of the game felt like he was chasing defensively and did nothing offensively.

Matt Calvert (C-) – One of the rare games where I felt Calvert just wasn’t at his best. The effort was there, of course, but he didn’t just didn’t do much today and his best offensive chance he again chose not to shoot or pass and instead ran the puck into the boards behind the goal and allowed the defenseman to get on top of him. He’s too indecisive offensively and it’s cratering chances created.

Ian Cole (B+) – One of the issues I’ve had with Cole defensively this year has been his decision making in jumping into the play offensively and holding the blue line defensively. I thought he was exceptional at both today as he pinched in and helped create some offense and he stood up well at the blue line and shorted multiple rush opportunities for Chicago. These last several games have had a heavy playoff feel to them and Cole has shown why the organization brought him in as he’s stepped up big time.

J.T. Compher (A) – Some players seem to have those teams where they inexplicably find that extra gear. Against the Avs, it’s guys like Colton Sissons and Jonathan Toews (who has scored more goals against Colorado than any other team in his career and added to that total today). For Compher, it’s been Minnesota and his hometown Blackhawks. He added another one today on a great tip from a point shot and nearly added a second on a breakaway in the third period. He was all over the place for the Avs today and played nearly 25 minutes!

Samuel Girard (C+) – Girard got beat up in shot share today and they definitely need more from him in the defensive end but he snagged an assist on the PP and his hot run of offense at the end of the year continues. He wasn’t quite as aggressive with the puck as he was during the two road games this past week but he still found his way to the scoresheet.

Ryan Graves (INC) – I’ve understood and enjoyed the seven D lineup when it’s been going on but playing Graves just 5:59 seems to defeat the entire purpose and adds extra strain on your forwards for no discernible payoff, especially at home when the Avs have the matchup advantage on faceoffs. Graves did make the early mistake of touching the puck on a line change before his guy got off the ice but the real problem was the Kerfoot turnover on the play.

Philipp Grubauer (A-) – It wasn’t a dominant performance and the .935 save percentage was lower than what he’s been doing lately but it was still downright excellent. He came up huge when he had to and the ones that got by him were acceptable. He just keeps rolling along.

Erik Johnson (D+) – Credit for the assist on the game-winning goal but he got absolutely crushed in shot share. Normally a combination of the Avs winning and putting up points pushes a player’s grade into the positive territory but Johnson got lit up defensively. At 5v5, Chicago had a 12-3 advantage in scoring chances and 25-8 shot attempt advantage. Given he tied MacKinnon for most shifts by an Av today, he got straight caved in.

Tyson Jost (D+) – I wrote a nice piece about Jost’s dominance in Corsi and he responded with three consecutive negative Corsi games. I’m not a believer in jinxes but that’s some amusing voodoo timing. He was just okay today. As the intensity has ramped up into playoff mode, Jost has occasionally struggled to reach that level.

Alexander Kerfoot (A-) – This is basically a grade given for raw production. He had been struggling lately to find points despite helping to create a ton of chances but today he notched two assists in a game where I don’t think he played all that well. I thought he was terrible in the first period but got a lot better as the game went on and the pass he made to Wilson on the 5 on 3 PP was perfect. He baited the defender’s stick out of the lane and when he had the opening, he feathered the pass perfectly onto Wilson’s stick and 22 did the rest.

Nathan MacKinnon (B) – He was negative in shot share and he didn’t score any points. Normally that could serve as a game recap with the way the Avs tend to live and die by MacKinnon’s production. But today he had 12 shot attempts, five on goal, and he absolutely blistered a slapper past Crawford on the 5 on 3 PP that left a dent in the post. He came thisclose to scoring multiple goals and was tied with Johnson in most shifts on the Avs today. There was frustration with him pulling up and defending himself on rushes but he was still a one-man army with the puck today. Even when he doesn’t produce, he can put up a special performance.

Patrik Nemeth (B-) – He really didn’t play very much but he grabbed an assist and was part of a penalty kill that was perfect on the day, a key to Colorado getting the win. I think he’s been playing his diminished role quite well lately and today was a continuation of that.

Carl Soderberg (D+) – It felt like Carl was Colorado’s leader in “almost” plays today. He was close to being part of so many different things but none of them ultimately panned out. He had the ENG in Dallas but otherwise has been a wallflower in Colorado’s winning streak. There’s no doubt Carl has more to give.

Colin Wilson (A) – I remember when the Avs acquired Wilson and Preds fans/media all talked about this mythical creature known as “Playoff Willy” when talking about Wilson. I think that’s the guy we’ve seen this week because he was everywhere against Minnesota and made his mark again today. He scored the goal to put Colorado ahead 2-1 and had an assist on the game-winning goal in the third period. He even rang one off the post, one of four Avs posts hit on the day, that would have given Colorado a 4-2 lead had it gone in. He was negative in shot share so I’m dinging him every so slightly but that really doesn’t diminish what a good afternoon he had.

Nikita Zadorov (C-) – I always enjoy watching how storylines develop over the course of a season. This year, there’s been this common belief that Bednar has a preference of Nemeth over Zadorov despite almost no actual proof to back it up and today was another pretty example that Z has a longer leash than we occasionally admit. While playing 15:43 is certainly not an enormous workload, it dwarfs the 12:43 played by Nemeth, only 9:50 of which was at 5v5. Z got those minutes despite a ghastly turnover that created Chicago’s first goal and a few other questionable plays with the puck. He fired a puck into Cole’s skates early in the third that created a scoring chance that he subsequently broke up with great defense. That was kind of Z’s day. He honestly played a hell of a defensive game and he even rang one a shot off the post for good measure. But those passing plays, they just create such huge problems sometimes.