Avs Game 52 Grades - Comeback Kings

The Avalanche looked lost in the 1st period, but bounced back nicely for a huge 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings as they head into the All Star break.

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

Tyson Barrie (C+) – Barrie looked pretty sloppy early in the game with some turnovers, and got beat pretty badly by Lecavalier on the second goal for the Kings.  He played well afterwards, especially on the PP.

Francois Beauchemin (B) – The Avs are trying their hardest to wear him out, but he was good again tonight.  I don’t think he left the ice on the PK at all.

Chris Bigras (C+) – He played very limited minutes, but looked good, for the most part.  He had a bit of  a shaky shift late in the third, but Roy trusted him more than Bodnarchuk.

Andrew Bodnarchuk (F) – With each passing day, this claim makes less and less sense.  He got caught trying to cover a guy Barrie was already covering, instead of looking in front of the net on the Kings 3rd goal.  He was benched for the rest of the night after that goal.

Blake Comeau (D) – What a frustrating player.  I’ve said it before, but he’s essentially a bit better Mitchell.  He needs to make smarter plays, like he did on Landeskog’s first goal.

Matt Duchene (B) – The goal he scored early in the second period was obviously enormous.  He passed up a shot late in the third that you’d like to see him take in such a tight game.  I think he’s a perfect fit on the right wing.

Mikhail Grigorenko (C) – He got in the lineup?  That’s great.  He’s on the top line?  Even better.  He gets demoted after just a few shifts?  I guess we shouldn’t have expected anything more.  He was able to get on the PP late in the game, and helped create the MacKinnon goal, even if he meant to shoot it himself.  If he’s going to play on the 4th line, at least keep him on the PP.

Nick Holden (D) – Holden had a disastrous first period.  He played too tight to Doughty and wasn’t able to recover with his lack of speed, then let his guy get a clear lane to the net on the second goal.  He was better after that, but that first period was very forgettable.

Jarome Iginla (B) – Iginla looked like a guy who never wanted to go back to playing with the plugs on the 4th line.  He showed a lot of jump once he was moved up, and got robbed by Quick in the third.  It’ll be interesting to see if he starts on that line after the break.

Erik Johnson (C+) – Zombie Erik Johnson played almost 30 minutes tonight, and got better as the night went on.  You can tell he’s not all there, though.  The week off will be good for him if he’s really sick.

Gabriel Landeskog (B+) – The Captain has gotten a lot of criticism of late, but he scored some enormous goals for his team tonight, and I’ve liked his defensive game of late.

Nathan MacKinnon (C) – Mack did not have a very good night overall, but he’s a game breaker, and he’s now scored in 3 of his last 4 games, which the team needs moving forward.  He leads the team in game winners.

Andreas Martinsen (D-) – He had one decent shift in the second period, but the shine is definitely off his game.  The puck skills are just not there, and his physical game is all but gone.

Cody McLeod (B) – McLeod played way too much in the first period, but his strong forecheck helped lead to the Duchene goal.  Showed great effort late in the game to block a shot before a ticky tack penalty call on him.

John Mitchell (C) – Like McLeod, he played way too much in the first period, but unlike McLeod, I wasn’t as big a fan of his game.  Too much overhandling of the puck again, and got caught out of position too much.

Calvin Pickard (A) – That’s the type of bounce back game that NHL goalies have.  He got little to no help in the first period, and kept the team within striking distance for the comeback.  I don’t think any of the goals were his fault, and he made a tremendous play moving the puck up the ice quickly on the Avs third goal.

Jack Skille (C) – More good hustle by Skille tonight, but I don’t think he provided much at either end, and he did take a penalty.

Carl Soderberg (B) – This guy is a monster on the power play.  Another power play assist, and an even strength assist to go along with it.  He is the Stastny replacement they needed last year.

Chris Wagner (D-) – Like Martinsen, he flashed once in the second period with a huge hit in the neutral zone.  Other than that, he was not very good, and saw limited ice time all night.

The Avalanche are off for the NHL All Star Break.  They return to the ice on Tuesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.  The game starts at 7 PM MST.