Avs-Jets player grades: Busting the losing streak

Sven Andrighetto (A) – He was really fun to watch. Then he scored a goal and it was a nice reminder of just exactly what he is capable of when he’s feeling it. Always happy for a guy struggling through the season when he has a good night.

Tyson Barrie (C+) – The shot attempts weren’t great but not many actually made it through. I really liked his effort getting back after the Graves turnover created a scoring chance. He overskated the play but his hustle forced the Jets to slow up a bit and allowed his teammates to catch up. Sometimes it’s the little things, you know?

Matt Calvert (A) – This might be overcompensating a bit but he drew a penalty, snagged an assist, and then threw his tiny fists of fury late in the game. He’s all heart, all hustle, all everything like he usually is. If you don’t love watching this guy play hockey, you’re watching the wrong stuff. Or you just have a different opinion from me and that’s also totally okay.

J.T. Compher (A-) –  The SHG was huge. HUGE. I can’t capitalize and bold and italicize HUGE enough. That goal was bae. Just great execution on the breakaway.

Samuel Girard (A) – This little guy kicked some ass tonight. This was a guy who played a game twice the size his body should allow for. What a beast. If this is the Girard that wants to show up regularly, Colorado is going to have a special player on their hands. I couldn’t have loved his game much more, even if he added a grip of points.

Ryan Graves (C) – This was a bit of a step back from Graves. It wasn’t that he played poorly, just that he wasn’t quite as sound. He made a bad turnover in the first period that created a scoring chance for the Jets but Barrie and others got back to limit the quality chance against and Varlamov made the save.

A.J. Greer (A) –  This was a completely different player, the one we’ve seen in the AHL so frequently but have been waiting to see in an Avalanche uniform. He was aggressive in shooting pucks, using his size effectively, and driving the net. His backcheck greatly complicated a potential Jets breakaway. I’m not sure where this surge of confidence came from but if this keeps up, Greer is going to stick in a meaningful way.

Erik Johnson (A) – The pinch on the first goal was aces. The lazy penalty in the third period could have given the Jets life, especially given how fragile the Avalanche have been lately. No harm ultimately done.

Tyson Jost (C) – Score on the breakaways, Josty!

Alexander Kerfoot (C) – The “frat line” wasn’t particularly effective as a group but all three guys had breakaways tonight. Only Compher scored so he gets the fun grade and these guys get the goat.

Gabriel Landeskog (A) – That goal was straight nasty. I remember following Landeskog’s rookie season openly wondering if he’d ever grow enough offensively to have a 30-goal season. I figured there was no way he wouldn’t eventually get there given how good he already was as a teenager. It took a few years longer than I expected but I’m damn happy to see Landeskog reach that plateau, and in a win no less.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – I wrote about MacKinnon needing to rediscover some of the dominance and he looked very much like the special version of himself tonight. He finished with just the one assist but the Avs were dominant with him on the ice and that is exactly what they needed to get back to. Good to see you again, Nate.

Patrik Nemeth (C+) – I had zero issues with Nemo tonight. A solid, unspectacular performance. Exactly the kind of showing that should appeal to a surefire playoff team looking for some blueline depth. Looking at you, Tampa Bay.

Matt Nieto (A+) – I very quietly liked his even strength play and he was giving up the body to block shots all night. Sometimes you need a little extra heart to pull yourself out of the doldrums and Nieto was one of the better cats tonight. What a nice play he made for Compher on the SHG and he added some filthy sauce on the Andrighetto goal.

Mikko Rantanen (C) – From Twitter: “Rantanen – poo poo”. Of the top line, Mikko was definitely the one who looked still out of sorts.

Carl Soderberg (B) – A super solid effort yet again. If the Avalanche are legitimately going to play in the playoff waters again, this guy needs to continue to be the horse for the bottom nine forwards. Just keep swimming, Carl.

Dominic Toninato (A) – First career NHL goal always gets an A. Well deserved for Toninato as he drove the net hard and banged home the rebound on a great all-around play. Loved the effort. A moment he’ll never forget.

Semyon Varlamov (A+) – A vintage Varlamov performance when the Avs were desperate for one. This time they matched his effort with enough offense to get him the W, unlike in Boston. This is the Varlamov Colorado wants to see every night.

Nikita Zadorov (B) – The stats aren’t great and there were some mistakes but as the game wore on, Jets players felt increasingly frustrated with their inability to get anything done and instead of dealing with Zadorov trying to blow them up they just moved the puck and saved the trouble of getting smoked by the big man. That’s the Zadorov effect.