Avs-Canadiens Grades: Lucky still counts

The Colorado Avalanche toppled the mighty Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night by the score of 2-0. How did the players grade out?

Glad you asked!

Tyson Barrie (C+) – Not much happened offensively with Barrie on the ice but I actually liked him in his own zone better than I do most nights. He was sharp on his reads and played with a rare defensive discipline versus his preferred freelancing ways. I know what the shot metrics say but I’m putting less weight on them tonight than normal because most everyone’s were bad but I don’t think it was necessarily a bad game (grading is hard, okay?).

Gabriel Bourque (C+) – I keep waiting for the shoe to drop on this guy and I’m sure it will eventually but for right now I’m just appreciating a guy who has done nothing but work his tail off as hard as he possibly can and do everything imaginable asked of him and then some. You think the coaching staff was asking him for points in four of his last five games? Absolutely not. He was elevated even more in the lineup and handled the increase in minutes with great aplomb. He deserves a field trip to Dairy Queen. Or whatever dessert place he prefers. I’m open to suggestions.

J.T. Compher (F) – This, however, was a disaster of a performance in my opinion. The puck seemed to escape his stick like it had Valentine’s Day plans with the nearest Canadien. Just an awful game all around for a player who has really stepped it up for Colorado recently. His puck distribution tonight was weak when presented with opportunities as he turned them into turnovers more than scoring chances. Rough night for Lil Drury.

Samuel Girard (C) – I didn’t really love the defense as a whole tonight and Girard was no exemption. He looks like he’s putting guys into the spin cycle just because he can at this point as the high spin move just isn’t generating the kind of open space you’d like. Some of this might be his own lack of initial separation ability and some might be the raw predictability of what he’s doing. He, along with Barrie, kind of exemplified my feelings on the defense as a whole tonight – decent but lots of room for improvement.

A.J. Greer (B) – He got an assist! I don’t have to dig deep for this one! He did something tangible! High fives all around, gang!

Erik Johnson (C) – He played a ton of minutes, per usual, and produced some interesting results but I liked his willingness to carry the puck tonight. He was one of the few Avs defenders really activating offense and pushing it through the neutal zone. He succeeded where others before (and after) him had failed.

Tyson Jost (F) – See: Compher, J.T.

Alexander Kerfoot (D) – This was an easy ‘F’ until his goal in the third period said okay let’s talk about this some more. Kerfoot managed to get through a benching in time to be on the ice for the game-sealing goal. It was a whole lot of good fortune smiling down on the kid with a Harvard degree. Some guys get all the luck, I tell ya.

Gabriel Landeskog (C+) – Some things I really liked about his game tonight (like his line was the only one that ever generated any kind of consistent offense…). Some things, like his puck management and going for the empty-net at  the end for the icing will stick in my craw a bit longer. I don’t blame him for doing it but I crucified Nemeth in this space for the same it a couple weeks ago, only fair I do it the same to Landeskog.

Anton Lindholm (D-) – He had two reads to keep pucks inside the offensive half of the ice I really liked. That was all I liked.

Patrik Nemeth (C+) – Look, too much is being asked of this guy, but he’s been a straight up warrior for the Avalanche. I’ve never had to wait on a postgame interview while the player literally peeled pieces of gear off and so he could engage in a little bit of adult language to feel better before I turned the recorder on. He blocked a ton of shots tonight and he played nearly the entire PK all game. Appreciate what he is and accept what he isn’t and you’ll find a decent, albeit overextended, defenseman here.

Matt Nieto (C+) – He’s very quietly battling through some physical discomfort and his speed continues to be an asset on the PK as opposing teams to have adjuist to the smothering blanket Colorado’s PK lays down inside the Pepsi Center.

Mikko Rantanen (C) – Pretty quiet game from the kid here. I wasn’t overly impressed with his play with the puck but he had some decent moments away from it. He got crushed at even strength, so there’s that, but again I’m counting the shot metrics as a little less important tonight. Call it scoring effects if you want.

Carl Soderberg (B) – I’m curious if it was a scouting thing or just circumstances but Soderberg tried to jam multiple pucks home from in tight but was denied the first time before succeeding in the unlikeliest of ways on the second attempt. He wasn’t that good beyond that but the guy who gets the game-winning goal is getting a feel-good grade and that’s just how it’s going to be for tonight.

Dominic Toninato (C-) – Not a good penalty. Not a particulary meaningful night for young Mr. Toninato. He’s had better and worse performances. Maybe someday one of those performances will include him finally getting on the scoreboard. Rooting for you, Dominic!

Semyon Varlamov (S) – My first ever ‘S’ grade. I’ve debated on when to hand it out but a 44-save shutout when clearly fending off either exhaustion, injury, or both at the end of the game means Varlamov gets the shiniest toy in the grading tool chest. His death stare rivals that of only Piccolo (though his was more of a smirk) and tonight it was on full display. Watch yourself, Goku.

Colin Wilson (D) – This isn’t so much of a ‘D’ for poor play but more of a ‘D’ for “Don’t keep giving him golden scoring chances because he can’t finish them” and tonight him tattooing the post like it lost a bet was another example of a goal left on the board after a perfect setup from Kerfoot. Frustrating watching chances continue to get wasted with him right now.

Nail Yakupov (C) – I remember during the third period saying outloud to nobody in particular, “Oh, yeah, Yakupov is playing tonight.”

Nikita Zadorov (B-) – There were some puck management issues but I have absolutely loved his recent commitment to laying the wood. Opposing players aren’t testing him in the corners, an area where sometimes his footwork falls apart and gets him in trouble, because they’re afraid of him leaving a big “Z WAS HERE” on their chest. The intimidation tactics seem to be working a bit and he continues to be effective. I’m not sure why he isn’t being given the assignment Nemeth is but I guess that’s why we have a coach grade, right?

Jared Bednar (D) – There are things I like about Patrik Nemeth but asking him to play 90% of your team’s PK might be going way overboard on usage of a player whose skillset is simply more limited than the role being asked of him. Nemeth understands how to play within the system being asked of him and I get the coaching staff values that very highly but there’s raw talent to be developed in that spot and Nemeth is keeping it from happening. His team hasn’t played a complete sixty minutes since MacKinnon’s injury and without excellent goaltending, this ship would be sinking like the ghost of 2016-17’s past had returned for more blood. I liked Bednar’s decision to bench Kerfoot because it sent the message that accountability will be demanded from every player or else they will sit. Kerfoot responded and they got a 2-0 win out of it. I might be frustrated with some of Bednar’s usage (a lot of it recently) but I’m not going to argue too much about a win.