Avs-Coyotes player grades: It's all happening

Sven Andrighetto (B-) – I again thought Andrighetto was involved in a positive way and his speed caused problems for Arizona’s depth guys when they got matched up. I’d have preferred he got a shot off on his best scoring chance of the night but we all want things in life, I suppose.

Tyson Barrie (C+) – I thought he was aggressive in jumping into the play and it looked like he hit the post in OT, something he’s done multiple times this season. I can live with what he gave up defensively because despite not scoring, he helped push play when he had a chance and Colorado struggled to get that part of their game going tonight.

Gabriel Bourque (C+) – Another solid night for him, though this time without the game-winning goal. He’s really stepped it up the last few games and done his job.

Derick Brassard (A-) – I’ve been particularly harsh on Brassard in this space recently but he did tonight what he was brought in to do – score. His goal late in the second period made it 2-0 and was huge for him.

Matt Calvert (C) – This might be the first time I’ll say this all year but I…didn’t really notice Calvert much. It should be noted I missed a portion of the third period but overall I didn’t have any issues here.

Ian Cole (C) – I didn’t have any major issue with most of Colorado’s defense tonight. I thought they were by and large solid, limiting the quality of chances and largely keeping the area in front of Grubauer clean.

J.T. Compher (C+) – Not a bad night for Compher as he moved his feet and drew a penalty (should’ve drawn two, honestly) but that was about it for him. An otherwise quiet night overall. His shot block on Keller in OT was huge, though, and that bumped his grade up. Huge plays in huge moments always stand out.

Samuel Girard (F) – It’s not common for Girard to be so turnover-prone but he just couldn’t seem to get a handle on the puck tonight. Between bad decisions, iffy defense, and back puck management, this was a pretty ugly showing for one-half of Colorado’s top pairing.

Philipp Grubauer (A+) – He gave up two nonsense goals where Arizona just threw the puck towards the goal and hoped it went well. I guess that could describe shooting in general but Arizona’s two goals were silly. Then he was nails in OT and allowed nothing in the shootout. Only nonsense can beat this dude right now. Locked. In.

Erik Johnson (F) – The other half of Colorado’s top pairing wasn’t any better, though. He was sloppy with the puck, failing to clear the defensive zone as he got too cute at times and allowed the Arizona forecheck to eat him up. He looked slow to react. A major cause for concern. His decision to try to outskate a guy in overtime resulted in the easiest turnover you’ll see in OT and gave up possession. As we’ve learned this year, possession is everything in OT and Johnson threw it away on a play that had very little upside even had it worked. Just not his night.

Tyson Jost (D) – I said a bunch of nice stuff about Jost and then he followed it up with a really iffy string of games. As his normal with him lately, there were a few really good moments but then some frustrating ones too. He just didn’t quite have it tonight.

Alexander Kerfoot (D+) – Kerfoot got crushed tonight in shot share (lots of guys did so grain of salt, I guess?) but I thought he just looked so lethargic with the puck. I expect way more from him than we got tonight. Naturally, he had an assist. I’m an idiot.

Gabriel Landeskog (A) – I probably would’ve given Landeskog an ‘A’ just for being healthy and participating in the game but he had to go and be dope along the way just to make it even easier. He had a nice assist to MacKinnon for the game’s opening goal and really showed off his defensive acumen, which the Avs badly missed. He’s really good, y’all.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – This guy is also really good. He scored his 39th goal of the season and the only goal in the shootout and after the game was mad at himself for not scoring on his backhand attempt at the end of OT. He’s an imperfect superstar but this guy is a special talent. He’s two points from matching the 97 he put up last season.

Patrik Nemeth (C+) – I…quite liked his game honestly. I think he’s been rock solid the last couple weeks and good for him because Cale Makar just might be coming to take his job. Maybe. I dunno. But Nemeth is solid and he gets full marks for that.

Matt Nieto (C+) – A quiet night for a pretty quiet guy but he’s back and eating up solid minutes again. He wasn’t spectacular and it’s clear the timing is still just a touch off at times but he was solid yet again.

Carl Soderberg (B-) – Some really good stuff from Soderberg tonight. He drew a penalty while on the PK simply by outworking multiple Coyotes and also grabbed an assist on the Brassard PPG. Avs have really needed him to find form and he did tonight.

Colin Wilson (B) – He was all over the place at times and just willed his way through some situations He picked up a well-earned assist on Brassard’s goal. He has been in full beast mode the last few weeks, flaws an everything. He beat out an icing in the third when Colorado was trying to sit on the lead. It ended up not mattering but at the time it was thumbs up.

Nikita Zadorov (B-) – He had the “omg” turnover in OT that nearly turned into a goal against but Compher bailed him out so all’s well that ends well, right? Sure, that works. I quietly loved his game overall, though. He was active in shooting pucks when he had opportunities and he was good defensively without being out of control.