Avs-Flames Grades: Comeback kids

The Colorado Avalanche dropped the Calgary Flames 5-2 in a penalty-filled mess of a game.

How did the players grade out? See below!

Tyson Barrie (B-) – The mistake on Calgary’s first goal is the only reason this grade is not an ‘A’. Barrie was aggressive as can be tonight and he put another two points on the board. Maybe next time don’t make the big mistake early on, okay?

Gabriel Bourque (D) – Well, he skated hard at least and had a couple nice hits. . Quiet night beyond that.

Blake Comeau (B-) – He was gifted an assist on Nieto’s goal but he played a strong game and his work on the penalty kill was respectable. I gave him a slight downgrade because he passed up a handful of shots trying to make a cute play.

J.T. Compher (C) – He was part of a line that wasn’t any good at even strength but his work on special teams was vital. His effort and creativity ended a Calgary power play just 16 seconds in as he drew a penalty. That work bumped his grade up a full letter.

Samuel Girard (B-) – Had some aggressive moments with the puck and things are always electric when that happens. Also had some great stickwork in front of his own net that prevented scoring chances from potentially turning into more.

Tyson Jost (C) – Very quiet night from him tonight. Not good, not bad, just a forgettable performance overall. They aren’t all going to be masterpieces.

Alexander Kerfoot (C) – Sleepy night for him and his line. Some of it was low ice time but they just weren’t getting anything done on the ice.

Gabriel Landeskog (C) – I thought Landeskog was terrible in the first period but picked it up over the final two. He has settled in as the garbage man on his line and he really thrives in that role when he’s committed to moving his feet.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – Guy is on another planet right now. Another eight shots on goal tonight and he could have easily scored four goals. There’s a legitimate shot he scores 40 despite missing eight games, especially with the home-heavy schedule where he has been unstoppable this season.

Patrik Nemeth (B) – Solid night, respectable effort from Nemeth. His stick check on Gaudreau after he’d split the defense might have prevented a goal against early in the third period. His struggles clearing the puck on the PK continued but no damage was done. Where in the world did his six shots on goal come from?

Matt Nieto (B) – His goal was awesome. A perfect deflection of a great pass from Soderberg. His line was effective beyond that, creating some quality offense throughout. He’s the quiet one on that line but he made plenty of noise in this one.

Mikko Rantanen (B+) – I liked his aggression in shooting the puck tonight. That line really becomes unstoppable when Rantanen forces the opposing defenses to respect his lethal sniping ability as well as MacKinnon’s absurdity.

Duncan Siemens (C) – Awful turnover and awareness led to Calgary’s second goal. After some strong showings, tonight was just a mess for Siemens. His empty-net goal was the first goal of his NHL career and it was a great moment for a great young man. His overall game was lacking tonight but we’re still showing some love for his first goal.

Dominic Toninato (D) – This line had a terrible night. After having a pretty fun game last time out, Toninato was a trainwreck tonight. We’ve come to expect better than this so I’m chalking it up to a bad night.

Carl Soderberg (B) – I really enjoy watching Soderberg on nights like this. He was engaged and moving his feet all night and he’s so dangerous when he plays with that attitude. He was very good on the penalty kill and his assist was mint.

Semyon Varlamov (B) – 30 saves on 32 shots, a solid night for Varlamov. He looked like he was struggling with his puck tracking early on but he settled in as he often does. His only goals given up were on a breakaway and a slick passing play where he didn’t have much of a chance. A bit more scrambly tonight than he normally is but he got the job done. 

David Warsofsky (D) – He’s just not an NHL player. This might seem like a quick trigger but I think given his availability to be sent down and Lindholm and Alt likely to be ready to go soon, we should be seeing the end of Warsofsky in Colorado pretty soon.

Colin Wilson (C) – Like the rest of his linemates, it was a pretty quiet night overall. Nothing particularly good or bad and the shot metrics showed them basically breaking even.

Nikita Zadorov (A-) – The shot metrics weren’t great but I thought Zadorov made several great defensive plays in big situations, clearing pucks out of dangerous areas and being more responsible in front of his own net than he has been in the past. And come on, that goal was awesome. Big time response to his recent poor play.