Avs Game 54 Grades - Lucky to Get A Point

The Avalanche were dominated again from start to finish, but were able to get a point on their way to a 4-3 overtime loss against the Dallas Stars.

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

Tyson Barrie (F) – That was probably the worst game Barrie has played all year.  He didn’t do much of anything offensively, and was a mess in his own end.  Turned the puck over right at the blueline before the overtime winner.

Francois Beauchemin (C-) – To me, Beauchemin looked really slow out there tonight, and his decision making with the puck was really questionable.  I think his legs are starting to get heavy with all the minutes he’s been playing.

Chris Bigras (D) – Probably his worst game in the NHL to date.  He got walked big time by Hemsky towards the end of the first period, and looked small next to some of the Stars forwards.  Like most of his games here, he didn’t get much help from his partner.

Blake Comeau (C-) – He scored a nice goal, and his assist was amazing, but he was having real issues with the puck all night.  He had one shift in the defensive zone with two chances to clear and he whiffed on both of them.  The Avs ended up taking a penalty not long after.

Matt Duchene (C) – He’s still getting pucks to the net and getting chances, but hasn’t been as dynamic of late.  Did some nice dirty work right before the Holden goal.

Mikhail Grigorenko (B-) – I don’t know if it was a promotion for him, or a demotion for Iginla, but he looked good no matter what line he was on.  He was much more engaged offensively and defensively.  Had a real nice give and go with MacKinnon at the end of the second.

Nick Holden (D-) – If it wasn’t for his goal, this would have been an F.  He was a disaster the entire shift before the Stars first goal, and had problems in the defensive zone all evening.  He had a really terrible icing in the second period where he just dumped it down the ice instead of taking a few more strides to center ice.

Jarome Iginla (D) – Roy admitted after the game that he can’t hang with the top line anymore.  It’s been obvious all year.  He did nice work in front of the net on the Holden goal, but was invisible all night otherwise.

Erik Johnson (B-) – He looked much better tonight, and had two great breakout passes leading to a few of the Avs goals.  Made a great defensively play to stop a breakaway in the third period.

Gabriel Landeskog (B) – The Captain finally looks like he’s healthy.  He was physical all night and cycling well in the offensive zone.

Nathan MacKinnon (D) – He managed to pick up an assist on the Holden goal, but not a good night for him otherwise.  Looked a bit lost on the first Stars goal defensively.

Andreas Martinsen (D) – I actually thought he was having himself a decent game before he killed the Avs momentum by taking out the goalie on the Redmond goal that was disallowed after review.  He has to be smarter and more aware than that.

Cody McLeod (D) – That line is just a disaster right now, and Roy finally broke them up.  They have barely left their own end for two games now.

John Mitchell (D) – It’s not surprising to any Avs fan to see his game fall off when he gets more ice time.  Instead of using his linemates, he decided to try to skate through the entire Stars team in 4 on 4 play a few times.

Calvin Pickard (B) – It’s not always his fault, but Pickard seems to give up an early goal often, before settling down.  He made a really nice save on Benn in the second period, but didn’t get much help tonight…again.

Zach Redmond (F) – If Roy sent Zadorov down because of turnovers, then why does he keep going back to Redmond?  He had a disastrous shift in the first period where he was responsible for not just one, but two odd man rushes against, and Bigras had to cover for him.

Jack Skille (F) – Skille was invisible all night, other than the elbow he took to the head in the third period.  His stat line shows it as well, with no hits, no shots, and no blocked shots.

Carl Soderberg (B) – Soderberg is dangerously close to passing Duchene and MacKinnon for the scoring lead on the team.  A fantastic move at the blueline before Comeau’s goal, and showed off some nifty stickhandling all night.

Alex Tanguay (C) – I thought Tanguay looked decent tonight in limited minutes.  He seemed to be able to create a few things with Grigorenko.

The Avs continue their home stand when they take on the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.  The game starts at 8 PM MST.