Avs-Predators Game 2 Grades: Mistakes galore

The Colorado Avalanche dropped game two of their playoff series to the Nashville Predators 5-4. Below are the player grades.

Sven Andrighetto (C+) – Of the guys on his line, he was dangerous throughout. Lack of finish continues to haunt him as he could have tied the game at four shortly after Colorado’s power play ended in the third period but Rinne made a great pad save.

Mark Barberio (C+) – A significant improvement from game one, Barberio essentially erased the mistakes that were game-changing two days ago. He was put into a much tougher position with the Girard scratch and he held his own playing a role he’s not equipped to handle regularly. This was a good example of his value as a swing guy. Not spectacular but he can keep the boat steady in small doses.

Tyson Barrie (C) – Terrible luck seems to be stalking Barrie as he took a puck in the face that kept him out of the majority of the second half of the first period. He returned and played okay, picking up an assist. I’m not sure what he was doing on the line change fiasco that led to Nashville’s fourth goal. I’m not putting it on Barrie, I simply don’t know what was going on there. He’s been his normal high-event self but it’s been in the wrong direction. The upside is the quality of chances against has been closer to even than raw shots. Still, his own zone is back to being a mess.

Jonathan Bernier (D) – A continuation of game one for Bernier. He was okay at best and flat not good enough when the Avalanche needed him. I like to say all saves are timely but he really didn’t stop any of the big chances Nashville had and Colorado just isn’t good enough to overcome that level of goaltending. The first goal was bad luck but the Arvidsson goal was just bad.

Gabriel Bourque (B+) – The goal was a great play from all three members of the fourth line. Unfortunately, it was the last impactful play any of them were really involved in. Loved the laser from Bourque.

Blake Comeau (D) – The matchup being handed to this line is clearly too much. And each guy is a key member of a penalty kill unit that gave up goals in each game. Tough outing for this entire line.

J.T. Compher (B) – His pass to Bourque was a great feed and the kind of playmaking we saw from him in college and the AHL but haven’t seen translate to the NHL yet. An otherwise quiet game for him but he was very good defensively.

Tyson Jost (D) – The poor effort on the Hartman empty-net goal is going to stick out to everyone and it’s the second game in a row he’s been lazy getting back in his own zone. After some flashes in game one, Jost was a ghost (sorry for the rhyme) today. His one scoring chance he tried to force a pass through traffic instead of simply shooting it. Need more aggression than that.

Alexander Kerfoot (B) – The goal was classic Kerfoot. He seemed to score plenty of goals in the dying moments of games this year. This one was legit though and gave the Avalanche one last gasp of life. Beyond that, he caused a couple problems for Nashville’s defensive zone coverages with his patience. His deliberate pace of play is a nice contrast to his teammates, who are go go gadget rocket skates all the time.

Gabriel Landeskog (A) – Two points, five shots on goal, three hits, and a blocked shot. The kind of solid all-around effort you’re wanting from your best two-way forward. He got worked in the faceoff circle today but that’s a role he’s been given far too much of recently.

Nathan MacKinnon (A) – We talked coming into this series about the top line producing and they generated two goals today. MacKinnon’s goal was a silly one-man army in which he fought off slashes and hooks and powered his way to the net and beat Rinne with a backhand that seemed to surprise the Nashville netminder. His six shots on goal were a game-high.

Patrik Nemeth (D+) – As usual, this is a tough grade to hand out. Multiple failed clearing attempts created extended offensive possessions for the Predators and he had the unfortunate distinction of standing in the wrong place when Kevin Fiala’s shot was headed several feet wide of the net and it deflected off Nemeth’s skate and in for their first goal. He also likely stopped a goal when he slid across and blocked a shot before Bernier could get there. For me, the positive shot metrics (just barely!) are more a result of being on the ice with MacKinnon than anything good he was involved in. He helped extend too many possessions and was not good enough in handling the puck today. Drink.

Matt Nieto (D) – As mentioned with Comeau, this line is getting buried and being asked to play way above its capabilities. He had a chance to spring Comeau for a mini breakaway but his pass was a bouncing grenade of a mess that flew by Comeau untouched.

Mikko Rantanen (D) – While I think his linemates played well, Rantanen has been nothing short of a mess in his first two playoff games. Sloppy puckhandling, weak on his skates, and not playing with any of the power we saw him regularly embrace during the season. He’s been the biggest disappointment of the series through two games in my eyes. Hopefully the home cooking he has coming his way helps him find his game again. Rantanen at Pepsi Center has been a very special player this season.

Duncan Siemens (C+) – He played very little at even strength but held his own just fine. He saw nearly as many penalty kill minutes as even strength minutes and did okay for himself. He wasn’t anything special but he slotted in and played a safe game. He even had one sequence on offense where he knocked a puck out of the air with his stick and threw it on net. Scoring chances were 4-1 in favor of Colorado with him on the ice at even strength.

Carl Soderberg (D) – Same as with Comeau and Nieto. This line is getting beaten up badly at even strength. I’ve been disappointed to see Soderberg shrink from the increased intensity of the playoffs. When he plays to his size, he’s a dangerous player. So far, he’s been a wallflower.

David Warsofsky (D) – Argue all you want about a soft call (and I think it was), Warsofsky’s penalty to negate a Colorado power play was just a mess from the beginning. He accomplished so little on the power play it would not be surprising to see him replaced there if Girard remains out.

Colin Wilson (B) – A great play by him to spark the first goal. It was about the only thing he managed today as that fourth line generated a goal and then succeeded in not allowing anything bad to happen to them. Of all the problems and miscues from Colorado today, the fourth line was not part of any of it.

Nikita Zadorov (C+) – Zadorov was okay. He was big and physical throughout and he moved his feet well. His turnover that led to the fourth goal was awful but that was a team-wide mistake and not solely on Zadorov. The frustrating reality is that every single Nashville line was in the positive of shot metrics with Zadorov on the ice, regardless of any other line combinations. There was still a lot to like from his game today but the complete package isn’t there yet.