Avs-Panthers player grades: Carl and Comph to rescue

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Avalanche snuffed out that one-game losing streak by beating the Florida Panthers 5-2 Thursday night. Let’s get to the grades:

Gabe Landeskog (A) – Was part of an awesome, dominant shift in the third that led to J.T. Compher’s tie-breaking goal. He added an empty-netter. He was a bit slow in the first half of the game, but really was great in that third.

Nathan MacKinnon (B) – A little off again at times with his decision-making, but he did pick up an assist and was a plus-3.

Mikko Rantanen (B+) – Got an early goal, on a tip of a Patrik Nemeth shot. Started the third on a new line, but didn’t let it affect him, in another strong overall effort.

Alexander Kerfoot (C) – Not the greatest night. No points or shots. Won four out of seven faceoffs at least.

J.T. Compher (A) – Great tip on the game-winner, skated well and hard overall. Had four shots on net.

Colin Wilson (B-) – He had a nice assist on one of Carl Soderberg’s goals. Kind of quiet otherwise, but that assist was important.

Carl Soderberg (A+) – Two goals and a great pass to Matt Nieto that almost resulted in a goal. Big Carl definitely brought his A game.

Matt Nieto (B) – Clanged a shot off the post on his breakaway. Only played 10 minutes, but did some good things out there.

Matt Calvert (C) – Just kind of there tonight, nothing that stood out much in any way. That’s not always a bad thing, but he didn’t play with the puck too much.

Tyson Jost (C) – I don’t know, I don’t think the move of him to left wing is a good thing. He’s more of a centerman. He needs to play with the puck more, and centers get to do that more than wingers.

Vladislav Kamenev (C) – Only played six minutes, but did get two shots on net. Just not very noticeable out there otherwise lately.

Gabriel Bourque (C) – Uh, oh that’s right, he played. Just not a very flashy player at all. Nothing tangible offensively, but worked hard it seemed, at least.

Erik Johnson (B+) – Good, solid game for EJ I thought. We got a scare when he left the game in the second period, but he’s fine now.

Sam Girard (A) – I thought his skating and puck-possession game was strong. He added and assist, with two shots on net. A solid game for 49.

Ian Cole (B+) – The NHL’s blocked shots leader added two more. He was a plus-2 in nearly 21 minutes of solid action.

Nikita Zadorov (B) – He had a ZSmash on Jared McCann in the second period that was patented. He lost the puck at center ice that nearly led to a third-period Panthers goal. Pretty good otherwise.

Patrik Nemeth (B-) – The big Swede got an assist on the first goal. Had his usual good moment here, bad moment there defensively. Nothing terrible, though.

Tyson Barrie (B+) – Didn’t get a point, but I thought he was pretty active with the puck and put three shots on net.

Philipp Grubauer (A) – Excellent performance by the German backup. Great save on a breakaway to keep it a 2-2 game. Very solid showing, with 33 saves overall.