Avs Game 34 Grades - Five in a Row

The Avalanche got out to an early lead and never looked back, beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 on Saturday night.

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

Tyson Barrie (B) – The Avs top 4 defensemen spent a lot of time defending this evening, as there was a lot of play in the Avs end.  Barrie had some miscues in his own end, but was able to score a big power play goal in the first period to extend the lead.  It was a smart play by Barrie to just put the puck on net, as the Avs had not one, but two players in the goalies sight lines.

Francois Beauchemin (B-) – The veteran defender didn’t record a hit or a blocked shot, which is rare for him, but most of the Oilers shots were getting through to the net.  He did make some nice defensive plays along the boards.

Blake Comeau (B-) – This is now the second game that Comeau has gotten the scoring started with an early breakaway goal, and both times he scored on the same shot.  He threw a big open ice hit in the third period that ended up hurting Brandon Davidson.

Matt Duchene (C+) – The top line was very quiet tonight, but Duchene had some moments.  He screened Nilsson on Barrie’s goal, and showed impressive strength on a drive to the net in the second period.

Mikhail Grigorenko (B) – The 4th line was very good tonight, and had a fantastic shift early in the game to give the Avs some momentum.  Grigorenko had some nice plays on the penalty kill tonight, using his long reach to his advantage.

Nate Guenin (C-) – Guenin had some good shifts, particularly early in the game, but also had some really bad ones, including one in the second period where he made an awful pinch at the offensive blueline, and the Oilers ended up with a clear 2 on 1 the other way.

Nick Holden (B-) – Holden ended up with 9 hits, which is a good and bad thing, as it means he didn’t have the puck a lot.  He made a nice play on his goal to stop the puck with his gloves and just throw it at the net.  He and Barrie have surprisingly good chemistry.

Jarome Iginla (B+) – His footspeed was exposed defensively in the first period when he took a penalty, but this was one of Iginla’s best games this year.  He could have had more than the one goal he got, and most of his chances were on nice feeds from Tanguay.  Hopefully his goal in the third period gets him going a bit.

Erik Johnson (C) – I didn’t like EJ’s game too much tonight.  He got burned early in the game by Draisaitl, who got past him for a mini break.  He also was taking some chances at the defensive blueline, and got beat more than a few times.  The Oilers attempted 30 shots with him on the ice, the most for the Avs.

Gabriel Landeskog (C+) – This isn’t something you’ll see very often: Landeskog was the Avs worst possession player tonight.  While he wasn’t very good offensively, his defensive game was strong, including a nice block on a PK.

Nathan MacKinnon (C) – MacKinnon has now gone 12 games without a goal, and he doesn’t seem as confident out there, not taking nearly as many shots as he was early in the year.  He did have another great game in the faceoff circle, but passed up a clear shot opportunity in the second period on a mini 2 on 1.

Andreas Martinsen (B) – Martinsen threw a huge hit on Darnell Nurse towards the end of the first period, and had a few nice chances throughout the game.  His inability to clear the puck defensively is an issue, as he missed two clears along the boards, that ended up in long shifts in the defensive zone.

Cody McLeod (B) – McLeod had a nice game, throwing some big hits in the first period, and making a nice tip pass to Skille for his goal.

John Mitchell (B+) – He still frustrates me with his unwillingness to shoot at times, but it needs to be recognized how much ice he is covering out there with his linemates.  Had a nice faceoff win on Holden’s goal.

Zach Redmond (B+) – Those are the types of games that make you feel like Redmond has a lot more to give.  He had a great rush in the second period, that included him spinning away from trouble in his own end.

Jack Skille (B+) – His speed was causing problems all night, and his goal was somewhat similar to the goal he scored against the Blues.

Carl Soderberg (B-) – Soderberg had some rough turnovers in the defensive zone, including an ugly one in the first that gave Taylor Hall a great chance, but he was good the rest of the game.  He had some nice plays on the penalty kill.

Alex Tanguay (B+) – Tanguay had one of his better games this season, as he was able to find Iginla a few times for some nice chances.  Seeing him take a one timer in the second period was a bit bizarre, as it’s not something you see often from him.

Semyon Varlamov (A+) – The Oilers were all over the Avs most of this game, and Varlamov was the only reason this wasn’t a complete shootout offensively.  He’s red hot right now, and it’ll be interesting to see how long Roy keeps going back to him.

The Avs play their final game before the Christmas break on Monday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The game starts at 7 PM MST.