Avs-Devils Grades: Successful exorcism

The Colorado Avalanche topped the New Jersey Devils tonight in an impressive 5-3 road win. Below are player grades!

Sven Andrighetto (B+) – Don’t love his usage on the PK and him being unable to tie up a stick in front on New Jersey’s first goal is exactly why but the rest of Andrighetto’s night was aces. He scored a goal and generated three SOG in just 10 minutes. A good start for Sven10.

Tyson Barrie (C+) – Defensively, Barrie was just okay tonight and the power play wasn’t able to generate much with him running the show, continuing what has been a slow start for him personally. That said, I saw a lot of little things from Barrie that I really liked tonight. His ability to kickstart transition is easily forgotten about when the team fails to score goals but he did a good job of revving up the offense’s engine from the defensive zone.

Gabriel Bourque (C+) –  Stop me if you’ve heard this before but I felt Bourque played a little too much tonight. That said, I really only noticed him when his forecheck at the end of the game created a really good scoring chance for Matt Nieto. Nieto wasn’t able to cash in (more on that below) but the process was sound. Bourque was only on the ice for two shot attempts against at 5v5 and that is a very solid night. 

Matt Calvert (B) – The scoring still hasn’t started for Calvert in a Colorado uniform but he’s been able to contribute in other areas. Tonight was definitely was another of those nights as his shot metrics at 5v5 were excellent (13 for, five against). Calvert’s natural fit with the Avalanche has been a quiet strength of this team so far.

Ian Cole (B+) – People love to hate on defensive defensemen who don’t lay huge hits and don’t rack up points to make up for their shortcomings. Cole dropped two assists on the world tonight and both were really good plays. His shot metrics took a dip right at the end of the game when he was on the ice for New Jersey’s final push but his offense (!??!) made up for all.

Samuel Girard (B) – It’s funny to think I didn’t really notice a lot of Sammy G tonight but when I did it was almost all positive. He had one turnover early that became a scoring chance for the Devils but beyond that, he continued to hum along creating scoring chances left and right. It’s still probably too early to go there but I wonder if there’s a temptation to swap Girard and Barrie on the power play units.

Philipp Grubauer (B+) – I didn’t get the sense Grubi was tracking the puck very well early on but by the end of the game he was definitely locked in. He made some huge saves down the stretch to preserve the victory, his first in Colorado. Congrats!

Erik Johnson (B+) – There were some hiccups tonight and that’s why I’m not giving him an A but overall I liked what he did, especially offensively. He was aggressive in keeping pucks playable for his teammates and he found himself part of some dangerous offense throughout the game. His assist was just gravy on top of a solid night.

Tyson Jost (C+) – The process is there with this kid right now but the results are struggling to keep up. He finished with no shots on goals but his aggression on the forecheck was effective throughout the game. It’s not all about offense and that’s especially true with Jost right now.

Vladislav Kamenev (B) – The eye test said he was good, the shot metrics agree, and the coaching staff added PP time to his responsibilities tonight. Kamenev and Soderberg were the only two Avs forwards with more than one minute of ice time on both the PP and PK. He was 67% on faceoffs and continues to prove he belongs at the pivot. He’s going to force some tough decisions when Compher returns.

Alexander Kerfoot (B) – His assist to Andrighetto was classic Tanguay 2.0. A great look that he knew was available the instant he got the puck, Kerfoot’s assist was already his fifth of the season. He’s on pace to be very productive for the Avalanche this year.

Gabriel Landeskog (A+) –Was there ever any doubt? I don’t care what the shot metrics say, this line dominated the game. His deflection goal was flat-out incredible.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – MacKinnon’s numbers were slightly inflated because one assist came on an empty-net goal and another came when he accidentally started to steal the puck from Rantanen and let him have it. He was still exceptional tonight but I’m dinging him the + tonight because he got a little second assist magic.

Patrik Nemeth (A) – I thought Nemeth was downright great tonight. I loved his decision-making and the shot metrics back up what my eyes told me – This guy had a very good game.

Matt Nieto (B-) – I can already see the comments about Nieto blowing the scoring chances he got. Fair enough, and I dropped his grade a bit because of it, but he was part of a line that dominated 5v5 play and Nieto absolutely gets credit for that as well. I thought he was great defensively. The only major complaint I had was, well, not cashing in on the scoring chances, of course.

Mikko Rantanen (A+) – In my eyes, he’s overshadowing Landy’s greatness ever so slightly because he was awesome tonight. He made great play after great play and drove plenty of the success of this line. If anybody still believes he’s a creation of MacKinnon’s breakout, you’re dead wrong. This guy was the man tonight and his manhandling of Butcher for the ENG at the end was just an extra scoop of delight on an otherwise satisfying evening.

Carl Soderberg (B+) – He was all over the place tonight. His shot metrics were excellent and his attitude and leadership have taken a huge step forward this season. It’s very easy to get behind the man they call ‘Carl’ when he’s playing his tail off like tonight.

Colin Wilson (B) – Another guy whose process seemed to outshine his results, Wilson had a strong evening and I liked his all-around game. I thought the penalty on him was nonsense (I also thought the majority of the penalties tonight were bad calls).

Nikita Zadorov (A) – When Z is skating around smoking fools and getting randos to jump him because they feel the need to defend the honor of their logo, you know the big man is locked in. He was great from the hop tonight as he delivered devastating hits throughout and produced excellent shot metrics. Two shots on goal, five hits, and ZERO giveaways? That’s the kind of night the Avalanche are very hard to beat because Z is patroling the blue line with such thunderous fervor.