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The Avalanche played a strong 60 minute game and beat the Nashville Predators 5-3, catching them for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
How did each player perform? Â Let’s find out…
Tyson Barrie (A) –Â Pay the man. Â That was an Erik Karlsson game from him tonight. Â He made some mistakes defensively, including a turnover before the Preds 2nd goal, but he was all over the ice, and scored the game winner. Â He was up and down the ice all night.
Francois Beauchemin (C+) –Â He was steady tonight, and had more chemistry with his partner, which is understandable. Â He’s been better on the power play than I imagined.
Andrew Bodnarchuk (C) –Â He started to get exposed a bit in the second period with his size, but thought he played a decent game, overall. Â No flash whatsoever, which is fine.
Blake Comeau (A-) –Â Two more assists and a few more big hits. Â He is really proving to be a valuable pickup by Joe Sakic.
Matt Duchene (B) –Â He didn’t score any goals, but he was real good all night, causing problems and drawing penalties. Â He did hit the crossbar in the first period.
Mikhail Grigorenko (B-) –Â His line didn’t see a lot of time, but I liked what they did, especially in the second half of the game. Â He got robbed by Rinne late in the third. Â Won 7 of his 10 faceoffs tonight.
Nate Guenin (C) –Â When Guenin doesn’t make you want to throw your remote through your TV, that means he had a decent night, by his standards.
Nick Holden (B-) –Â He did make some mistakes, but the Avs are getting a lot of mileage out of Nick Holden and he added 2 more assists in 25 minutes of ice time tonight. Â He even pulled off a move from Wayne’s World in the post-game interview.
Jarome Iginla (C+) –Â No one played less at even strength than Iggy, which is kind of a surprise. Â He’s essentially on the 4th line now. Â Scored a big goal going to the net in the first.
Gabriel Landeskog (B) –Â Tonight was more like the Landeskog we’re used to seeing. Â He was tremendous defensively, and he and Soderberg had a few cycling shifts that we expected to see when Soderberg signed this summer. Â Great screen on the game winner.
Nathan MacKinnon (B) –Â You’d prefer to see him taking it to the net more, but it’s not exactly easy to get 6 shots on goal, and attempt another 5.
Andreas Martinsen (C-) –Â Probably his weakest game in the last few weeks. Â He didn’t see a lot of ice time, and actually turned the puck over a few times.
Cody McLeod (A) –Â McLeod is really having a tremendous season. Â His penalty wasn’t really a penalty, and he scored a huge goal in the first period after a nice forecheck.
John Mitchell (B+) –Â Centered the line that was probably the Avs best tonight, and while I would say he was probably the worst one on that line, that’s not really a bad thing. Â Limit his minutes and he’s very valuable.
Zach Redmond (C) – He always seems to end up with the best possession numbers on the defense.  He was overhandling the puck a lot in the second period, but that’s just what he does.
Jack Skille (A) –Â I won’t be surprised if the Avs are looking to offer him an extension here in the near future. Â Another huge game for him, and he brings endless energy to the lineup.
Carl Soderberg (B+) –Â He’s right up there with Landeskog for the smartest forward on the team. Â He just makes smart decisions all the time, and he added two more assists tonight. Â Really intelligent play at the end of the game to kill time and then not ice the puck.
Alex Tanguay (D) –Â He showed a bit of life in the third, but he’s a complete liability all over the ice. Â I have no idea why he’s killing penalties, but his minutes need to be limited.
Semyon Varlamov (B-) –Â He shouldn’t be beaten short side on the first goal, but it was a great shot. Â The second goal was just a tremendous shot, and not much he could do. Â He looked a bit off his angle on the third goal, but it was a prime scoring position. Â He shut the door after that.
The Avs hit the road for a game as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks this Sunday. Â The game starts at 5 PM MST.