Avs Game 53 Grades - Slow Out of the Break

The Avalanche were lifeless through two periods, with only 8 shots on net, and a late push wasn’t enough, as they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1.

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

Tyson Barrie (C-) – A very quiet game from Barrie.  Outside of the last 10 minutes, he wasn’t doing much to push the play, which is when he’s effective.  He had some rough pinches in the second period.

Francois Beauchemin (C-) – Beauchemin looked slow in his own end tonight, and let Panarin get behind him really easily on the game winning goal.

Chris Bigras (C) – A very up and down night for Bigras.  He had some good moments, like in the third period where he pinched down and almost tied it up, but also some rough moments, particularly some turnovers in the second period.

Blake Comeau (D) – Tonight was one of the “bad” Comeau nights.  He made a really nice play to Landeskog for the lone goal, but had a tough night with the puck the rest of the night, especially with an empty net.

Matt Duchene (D) – Duchene was the best player on the top line, but that’s not saying much, considering how the night went.

Mikhail Grigorenko (C) – Grigo had a solid game, but did look afraid to make some mistakes with the puck.  He had a nice feed to Mitchell in the first for a chance.

Nick Holden (D) – He’s been exposed the last three games, and it’s a bit worrisome.  Teams are challenging him wide, and he doesn’t have the speed to match up.  Wasn’t covering anyone in front of the net on the first Chicago goal.

Jarome Iginla (F) – He got a chance on the top line, and looked miserable there.  No shots on net, and several turnovers.

Erik Johnson (F) – The guy has just looked really bad since coming back into the lineup.  He wasn’t moving his feet at all in the defensive zone, and got burned several times.  He got burned on the game winner with his patented slide on the ice, which Panarin just easily avoided.

Gabriel Landeskog (B) – The Captain was the only good forward tonight, scoring the lone goal and showing some fight all night.  He had a tremendous PK shift in the second period.  The time off might have helped him heal up some lingering injuries.

Nathan MacKinnon (F) – It’s not often that MacKinnon goes an entire night without a shot on net, and when it does happen, you know he was awful.  He was really sloppy with the puck tonight.

Cody McLeod (F) – This line couldn’t even get out of their own end.  McLeod had a boneheaded offsides in the first period, when he held onto the puck too long instead of dumping it in, causing Skille to go offside.

John Mitchell (F) – I really have no idea why Roy was matching his line up against Patrick Kane most of the night, but it didn’t end well.  He was kind of floating and covering no one on the first goal for Chicago.

Calvin Pickard (A) – This game shouldn’t have been as close as it was.  He probably wants the second goal back, but he did more than his share to give the Avs a chance tonight.

Zach Redmond (F) – Made a great stretch pass in the first period, but couldn’t complete a pass the rest of the night.  He was credited with 0 giveaways, but that doesn’t make any sense, considering I saw at least 4.

Jack Skille (F) – Completely invisible all night, and was the worst possession player on the Avs, at only 15%.

Carl Soderberg (C) – Soderberg was decent tonight and, along with Landeskog, led the Avs with 4 SOG.  He got robbed in front of the net in the first period.

Alex Tanguay (C) – I actually thought Tanguay had a passable game with limited minutes on the 4th line, after a night off against LA.  He looked to be moving a bit better.

Chris Wagner (C) – Wagner created some chances offensively, but his defensive game has been underwhelming.  It looked like he tipped the second Hawks goal through Pickard’s legs.

The Avs return to the ice on Thursday night against the Dallas Stars.  The game starts at 7 PM MST.