Avs Game 68 Grades - Beat the Teams You Should

The Avalanche and Coyotes played a sloppy game at the Pepsi Center, but the Avs were able to come out on to thanks to a strong performance by their goaltender, winning the game 3-1.

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

Tyson Barrie (D) – The Avs don’t usually win when Barrie has a tough night, but they did tonight, and part of that is due to their weak opponent.  He had some questionable turnovers in his own end.

Francois Beauchemin (B) – Really nice play on the Avs first goal to stay deeper in the zone after his near miss, and an even better display of patience to look off a defender and put the puck on net, which led to a rebound and a goal.

Mikkel Boedker (B+) – I think that was probably his best game in an Avs uniform, even though he didn’t end up on the scoresheet.  He and MacKinnon were flying all night long.

Blake Comeau (B+) – To my surprise, he didn’t do badly on the MacKinnon line.  He kept it simple most of the night, which is what he needs to do.  Made a really great pass on Duchene’s goal.

Matt Duchene (B+) – A new career high in goals for Duchene, after one of his more disappointing NHL seasons.   A nice give and go between he and Comeau for his goal.

Eric Gelinas (C+) – A much better performance from him tonight, other than a brutal giveaway in the first period that led to extended zone time for Arizona.  He unleashed his big shot a few times tonight.

Mikhail Grigorenko (B+) – It was nice to see him chip in with another goal and an assist, but his defensive play is what impresses me the most.  His stick work in the neutral zone and defensive zone is tremendous, and he uses his reach to his advantage.

Nick Holden (D) – A really sloppy game for Holden again.  Some bad turnovers defensively, and when the puck is in the Avs end for a while, he gets caught watching too much.

Jarome Iginla (C+) – He was the weakest link on his line, but he didn’t have a bad game.  He did struggle to get the puck out a few times at the blueline.

Erik Johnson (B-) – It’s not saying much, but that was one of EJ’s better games since returning.  He was moving into the play in the offensive zone and along the boards.

Gabriel Landeskog (B) – I love the way the Captain is playing right now, other than his penalties.  He’s a beast on the forecheck and the penalty kill, and he demolished Connor Murphy with a big hit in the third period.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – Sometimes you’re the best skater on the ice for either team and you don’t get rewarded with any points.  That was the case for MacKinnon tonight.  He was flying all night long, and really created issues for the Coyotes with his speed through the neutral zone.

Shawn Matthias (A-) – A really strong game by Matthias tonight.  He was really good on the penalty kill, and was resilient on his goal.  He’s been a nice fit on the third line.

Cody McLeod (C) – McLeod registered 4 hits and didn’t make a terrible mistake like last game on the game winner.  I’ll take it.

John Mitchell (B-) – For the second game in a row, Mitchell had a nice one on one rush up the ice and decided to just take it to the net.  This is what he needs to do more of.

Zach Redmond (C+) – The best thing you can say about Redmond tonight is that he was really quiet.  Bodnarchuk had been making some big mistakes of late, so it was nice to see a simple game from Redmond.

Jack Skille (C) – Like McLeod, he was quiet most of the night, and didn’t manage to register a shot on net.

Carl Soderberg (B) – Soderberg has picked up assists in back to back games, so let’s hope that gets him going again, because they’ll need his offense down the stretch.  It was the first time in a long time we got to see him without Comeau on his line.  He and Landy have always had instant chemistry.

Semyon Varlamov (A) – That’s exactly the game Roy wanted to see out of Varly.  He was calm in net all night, and made the big saves when they were needed, including a breakaway stop in the second period.  He’ll need to be ready on Wednesday night against a great Ducks team.

The Avalanche continue their home stand when they take on the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.  The game starts at 8 PM MST.