Avs Game 27 Grades - Total Domination by the Wild

The Avalanche were completely dominated from start to finish of last night’s game against the Minnesota Wild, and lost by a final score of 3-0.

How did each player perform?  Let’s find out…

Tyson Barrie (C) – Barrie was the only defenseman who didn’t manage to get completely dominated all night, and he was on the ice for the most shot attempts towards the Wild net at even strength.

Francois Beauchemin (D) – There have been a few too many times this year where the puck has gotten by Beauchemin at the point way too easily, creating either a change of possession or a regroup for the Avs.  It happened a few times last night.  On the flip side of Barrie, Beauchemin was on the ice for the most shot attempts against last night.

Blake Comeau (C-) – Comeau was easily the most physical player on the Avs last night, and looked like one of the few forwards willing to physically engage with the Wild.  Unfortunately, none of that led to any offense.

Matt Duchene (D) – The top line has been carrying a lot of the load lately, but when they aren’t going, it’s very noticeable.  Duchene didn’t end up getting a single shot on goal last night.

Brandon Gormley (D) – It’s hard for a defenseman to stay in the game when they only get 8 minutes of ice time.  Unfortunately, Gormley got dominated in those 8 minutes, with the worst possession numbers on the team.

Mikhail Grigorenko (C-) – Everyone’s fear for that line is that their lack of speed would work against them, and it certainly did last night.  They spent the majority of the night in their own end, and while Grigorenko battled hard, he didn’t spend much time in the offensive zone.

Nate Guenin (D) – Mike Yeo has figured out that his team needs to attack Nate Guenin when he’s on the ice.  Patrick Roy hasn’t figured this out yet, and continues to dress him.  A lot of chasing for Guenin last night.  The 4 on 4 shift was painful to watch with Guenin, as he was covering nobody, but yet, he was pointing at other people to cover someone.

Nick Holden (D) – The Avs were not terrible on faceoffs last night, but it didn’t matter when they did win them, because Holden would just grab the puck and throw it up the boards blindly.  Most of the time, it led to a turnover.  I’m not sure if it’s a play the coaches were telling him to do, but it didn’t work.

Jarome Iginla (F) – Iginla is just a bad hockey player at this point in his career.  He can shoot the puck, but that’s about it.  I’m not sure why Roy continues to use him on the point of the power play, as it leads to a lot of shorthanded chances, like it did last night.

Erik Johnson (F) – I commend EJ for putting his body in front of shots last night, but he was far too easy to play against, and when he did try to be physical, he was stupid about it.  Last night was one of the nights where EJ didn’t move his feet, and when he doesn’t do that, he is very easy to play against.

Gabriel Landeskog (D) – The Captain had a good chance off a rebound early in the game, but went missing after that, and didn’t provide a lot of energy.

Nathan MacKinnon (B) – The one player on the team who looked like they had their legs last night, as he was creating chances and backing off the D with his speed early.  Unfortunately, he’s hit a bit of a wall, as he hasn’t put up points recently.

Cody McLeod (C+) – When Cody McLeod leads your team in shots on goal, it probably was not a good night.

John Mitchell (D) – Mitchell has not provided a whole lot since coming back to the lineup, other than spreading out the lineup itself.  Another game where he doesn’t register a shot on goal.

Jack Skille (C+) – The 4th line was actually the only line wasn’t stuck in their own end all night, and ended up with positive possession numbers.

Carl Soderberg (C-) – Soderberg and his linemates did not have a good night, as they spent a lot of time in their own end, like most of the team.  I distinctly remember him getting a shot on goal early in the game, but apparently the Minnesota scorekeepers did not agree.

Alex Tanguay (D) – That looked more like the Tanguay we saw to start the year.  Slow, and unwilling to battle in the defensive zone.

Semyon Varlamov (A) – I think he’d probably want that first goal back, but he’s the only reason it was 3-0 at that point.  The Avs were dominated, and Varly gave them a chance when they shouldn’t have been in the game.  I think this is the first time he’s played well in back to back games this year, so that’s a start.

Chris Wagner (B-) – Wagner played with energy last night, and the Wild only attempted two shots on goal with him out there.  Unfortunately, he took a penalty early in the game when the Avs were doing a lot of running around.

The Avs head home to play the Wild on Monday night at the Pepsi Center.  The game starts at 7 PM MST.