Avs Game 3 Grades - Overmatched

The Colorado Avalanche were on their toes from the drop of the puck against the Washington Capitals and were never able to get any sustained pressure going, losing to the defending Presidents Trophy winners 3-0.

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

Tyson Barrie (D) – Barrie’s slow start isn’t surprising, given his performance in prior years, but the Avs are getting pummeled with him out there.  They only controlled 33% of the shot attempts at even strength with him on the ice, and he’s really not using his feet to get up the ice just yet this year.

Francois Beauchemin (C) – If it weren’t for Beauchemin, it would have been 1-0 early in the game, as he somehow kept the puck out of the net on the penalty kill.  Other than that, it was kind of quiet game for him, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Gabriel Bourque (C) – Poor guy had the job of covering Ovechkin on the PP.  That’s never fun.  He had a good chance in the second after a nice forecheck, but was pretty quiet most of the night.

Rene Bourque (C) – Is it me or is Rene in terrible shape?  He seems gassed 20 seconds into his shifts.  He wasn’t bad tonight, but he should be nowhere near the PP, which he got onto in this game.

Joe Colborne (C) – This was the first average game from Colborne.  The Avs are using him at center, but I don’t think that’s what they want to do, as the injuries to Rantanen and Mitchell have messed with the depth.

Blake Comeau (F) – Speaking of looking gassed early in their shifts.  Comeau missed most of camp, and it’s really showing.  He looks awful, and took another bad penalty, cross-checking someone on the backcheck in the first period.  The Caps scored on the ensuing power play.  He was a nice role player last year but I’m not sure he’s up to speed yet.

Matt Duchene (D) – Duchene has yet to find chemistry with anyone he’s played with, and that’s a little worrisome.  He’s got zeros across the stat sheet this year, and that’s going to have to change soon.  I wouldn’t mind seeing him play with MacKinnon and Landeskog for a game.  I didn’t see anything wrong with the hit by Orlov.

Mikhail Grigorenko (D) – Another really poor game for Grigorenko.  The Avs have been pinned in their end with him on the ice the last few games, and he hasn’t looked as engaged as he did in the opener.

Jarome Iginla (F) – Age catches up to everyone, but it’s harder to watch when that player is slowing down your top line.  Iggy can’t keep up with both Landeskog and MacKinnon, and while he’s normally passable on the power play, he was a bit of a mess tonight.  His instigator penalty changed the course of the game, allowing the Caps to extend their lead to two in the second period.

Erik Johnson (B) – One of the few bright spots, although he was not without a few mistakes.  EJ was moving his feet and should have had an easy assist in the second when MacKinnon whiffed on an empty net.  He made a few turnovers by trying to get too fancy, but I’d rather see him do that than sit back.

Gabriel Landeskog (C) – He’s not going to be perfect every game, and tonight the Captain was pretty average.  Unfortunately, the Avs offense dries up if the top line isn’t going, as the rest of the lines are a bit of a jumbled mess right now.  Tried to get his team fired up at the end of the second, and he should have drawn an extra minor on Ovechkin.

Nathan MacKinnon (B-) – MacK showed off his ridiculous hands in the second period with some dangles, but couldn’t get a shot on net afterward.  He had a chance to change the game in the second but missed an empty net.  Still, he led the team in shots on goal and created some of the Avs few chances.  He did not have a good game in the faceoff circle.

Andreas Martinsen (C-) – A step back game for Martinsen tonight, like it was for most of the team.  He didn’t use his size a whole lot, and a lot of that could have been because the Avs didn’t have the puck much.

Cody McLeod (D) – I get why he was put in the lineup, given the back to back, but McLeod is a very limited player and it showed tonight.  Plays die on his stick, and he would rather just dump it in the corner and try to run someone over instead of getting the puck.  The Avs only had 1 shot attempt in McLeod’s 10 minutes on the ice tonight.

Carl Soderberg (C-) – Soda thrives with the puck on his stick and being able to cycle the puck.  There hasn’t been much of that the last two games with him or his linemates.  It seems he’s struggling to find chemistry with people, much like Duchene.  I’d say put him back with Comeau, who he’s had success with, but Comeau is a mess right now.

Fedor Tyutin (C) – Beauchemin’s goal line stand came after Tyutin turned the puck over behind the net.  He played with Barrie tonight for the most part, and they were not very good together, but when he was away from Barrie, he performed surprisingly well.

Semyon Varlamov (A-) – Varly did his best to hold the team in the game, but there’s only so much he can do.  He had to be thinking he was playing behind a Roy led team in the first period, as he faced 20 shots in that session alone.

Patrick Wiercioch (C-) – Wiercioch struck iron early in the third in what was the Avs last great chance to score.  Beyond that, he, like Barrie, got crushed in terms of possession, as the Avs were only slightly better with Wiercioch on the ice tonight than Barrie.

Nikita Zadorov (C) – Through three games, people are seeing that patience is still required with the young Russian.  His first shift he came out and threw a big hit to keep the puck in the zone, and then the next shift took a penalty trying to break up a play.  He blew a tire on the Caps 2nd goal, giving Oshie more room in the slot to score, but also made some nice plays on the breakout.  The Avs are giving him ice time to grow, but there will still be growing pains.  He and Johnson had some decent success together again, as they were 50% possession at even strength when out there at the same time.

The Avs continue the road trip when the take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.  The game begins at 5:30 MST.