Avs-Sharks player grades: Requiem for a win

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Another night in California for the Avalanche, another loss. The boys in burgundy, white and blue concluded a winless three-game road trip Thursday night at the Shark Tank, setting up a showdown Saturday with the St. Louis Blues for the last spot in the Western Conference.

Let’s take a look at the way the individuals performed for the Avs in this one:

Mikko Rantanen (B-) – He finally broke his and his line’s long scoring drought, though it was a power-play goal he got in the third period that temporarily tied the game. He had a couple other dangerous chances earlier, but missed the net on one. He usually gets on a bit of a roll when he gets one goal, so the Avs can only hope he is ready for a big game Saturday.

Nathan MacKinnon (C+) – No goals for a ninth straight game. Hard to believe, after a Hart Trophy-caliber performance before that. He had five shots and almost tied it and won 8-of-15 faceoffs and assisted on Rantanen’s goal in the third. I thought he was more engaged in the play than the last couple games. But, he also missed the net on four other shot attempts in those first 40. He’s just not scoring right now, and it’s taking a big toll.

Gabe Landeskog (C) – Worked hard, but he’s in a goal drought too (nine straight games). He’s not drawing penalties as much as earlier in the season, probably because he and his linemates just haven’t had control of the puck enough. He’s got one more game to avoid what would be a disastrous final couple of weeks. He’s the captain, it’s time to lead by example when it matters, not just give woulda-coulda-shoulda laments.

Tyson Jost (C-) – He did a nice job bodying Kevin Labanc off the puck leading to Rantanen’s goal in the third. I thought he was engaged pretty good overall, but again – the Avs need goals right now and he didn’t get any. He was on the ice for a brutally bad shift with his other four on-ice teammates on the Sharks’ third goal.

Colin Wilson (F) – I don’t know why he’s even playing right now, to be honest. He’s been hurt all year, looks slow and out of shape and doing absolutely nothing good at either end really. There’s no chemistry on the ice with any line he plays on. He was sucking wind on that shift where the Sharks got their third goal, unable to skate much as the Sharks did cycle after cycle in their own end. Jared Bednar should put someone out there who wants to compete right now, not just show up and collect a big check.

J.T. Compher (F) – He hasn’t scored since getting those two goals March 13 in Minnesota. I thought he’d be a lot better than this in these kinds of big games, but not so. His line got outworked on that third goal, the game-winner. Compher’s minus-2 makes him minus-29 on the season.

Alexander Kerfoot (D) – Invisible in this one. No points, no shots. He did have a pretty good night in the faceoff dot (7-for-13), which is why he didn’t get an F.

Tyson Barrie (D-) – Worst game in quite a while. A minus-3, though he did get an assist on Rantanen’s power-play goal. He was heavily involved in just about every scoring play in the game. He had 27 Corsi events for, 28 against. It was just that some of those “against” ones were really costly. According to Naturalstattrick.com, he was on the ice for three high-danger scoring chances for, seven against.

Nikita Zadorov (D-) – Was on the ice for six high-danger chances against, to two for. He finished a minus-2 and just wasn’t very good. As always, he led the team, and the game, in hits with five. But just hitting guys isn’t enough right now. He’s got to bring his best game Saturday.

Blake Comeau (C) – He scored a goal, and his line actually played with the puck a lot. His personal Corsi for percentage was 57.8. So it was a strong night, right? Well, not exactly. He took two very costly penalties in the game, one in the second period that stopped the Avs’ growing momentum in its tracks. And, another in the third that helped the Sharks get the power-play goal that broke a 1-1 tie.

Matt Nieto (B) – I thought he played a pretty good game, cycling the puck effectively and making good reads defensively. He got an assist on Comeau’s goal.

Carl Soderberg (D+) – He lost 8-of-10 faceoffs and didn’t really do a lot offensively. It seems like he’s tired right now. He’s just not giving the Avs enough offense right now, which just makes everything so much more of a pressure situation for the top line.

Sam Girard (B) – I thought he was fine out there, playing nearly 21 minutes of smooth hockey. The offense just isn’t there still, but he was skating hard with the puck up the ice I thought.

Mark Barberio (B+) – For a guy who missed 33 straight games, I thought he acquitted himself pretty well out there. He played almost 18 minutes and was even, with five blocked shots. It’s a nice boost for the Avs to get him back right now. But, is it too late? We’ll find out Saturday.

David Warsofsky (B+) – He had an assist on the second goal, and had some good analytics (six high-danger chances for, one against). He did have four shot attempts that were blocked, getting just one official shot on net. But he was one of the Avs’ better players.

Gabriel Bourque (D) – A minus-1, no points or shots in 7:19 of play. What happened to that scoring touch he had around the mid-point of the season?

Patrik Nemeth (B) – I thought he was pretty good. Played a physical, responsible game, didn’t try to do too much with the puck like he sometimes does. He blocked three shots.

Sven Andrighetto (C-) – Pretty invisible out there. One shot on net. I thought he worked hard without the puck defensively, which is half the game. But that other half? Not much there.

Jonathan Bernier (C) – He seemed a little slow in his reaction times. It didn’t help, probably, that he was real sick earlier in the day. He gave a gamer’s effort, but the bottom line is he’s been just a little too average of late on a team that needs a goalie to steal one right now. The day off Friday, the Avs can only hope, will do him some good.