Avs-Stars player grades: Back from the dead

Sven Andrighetto (C) – I didn’t notice Andrighetto at all tonight. Just not an impact either way.

Tyson Barrie (A+) – Another game-winning goal. Four goals in three games. They needed a little extra offensive punch. He’s stepped up and even added eight blocked shots tonight. What a monster performance.

Gabriel Bourque (C+) – He was just fine. Some good defensive work late in the game to help move pucks out of the defensive zone.

Derick Brassard (D) – I seem to notice him less and less in each passing game. His 17% CF is a downright mess.

Matt Calvert (B-) – Late in games when you’re trying to protect leads, Calvert really shines. He’s able to utilize his speed to get to pucks and create competitive forecheck situations and he did that tonight. I loved his work late and he’s really an important guy for the Avs when they’re trying to protect leads.

Ian Cole (B) – This was the kind of game the Avs brought Ian Cole in for. He was physical and hard in the corners and made life miserable for Dallas forwards. This was exactly the kind of rugged, understated performance the Avs need from Cole night in and night out. He was rock solid.

J.T. Compher (C) – There was some good and bad with Compher tonight. I love the grit he plays with, especially for his size, but there weren’t enough impact plays tonight. He had arguably their best scoring chance on any of the PPs and he missed the net with it. Have to make a goalie make a save. Of course, then I’d criticize him for hitting the logo on the goalie’s chest so really I’m saying he has to score there.

Samuel Girard (A+) – This kid kicks ass. He was at his shiny best tonight with both good defense and great offense. Both of his assists were the result of him driving the center of the ice and forcing the defense to collapse on him. He used his vision and anticipation to create both scoring chances and they ended up in goals. Yahtzee. MFin yahtzee.

Ryan Graves (C-) – I didn’t think he played well at all tonight and Bednar may be hard-pressed to continue the 7D lineup this weekend against Chicago if he lets recency bias get in his head. Given Graves’ overall strength, he should be there Saturday but this was a night that won’t help his case much.

Philipp Grubauer (A+) – I’ve always struggled to find things to say about players who have exceptional games. It’s just so obvious when a guy has been The Man on a given night and Grubi was once again that guy for the Avs. He shut it down as he continues to make a late push for the starting job.

Erik Johnson (A) – He was solid defensively as he usually is but tonight he brought out the thunder bolt and let it fly on his one-timer to give the Avs a 1-0 lead. That’s the aspect of his game the Avs have missed the most this year and when he’s brought it, they’ve been successful.

Tyson Jost (C+) – This is the style of game he needs to learn to find ways to be successful in still. He’s shown up in games where the offense is running and gunning and wide open but these tight-checking, playoff-style games are ones where we still haven’t seen Jost break out yet. While his recent run has been very good, he was a bit quieter tonight overall. That said, he still got three shots on goal and was good in the neutral zone defensively. His game is really rounding into form.

Alexander Kerfoot (B+) – I absolutely loved Kerfoot’s game tonight. I’ve said a bunch of times that I respect how fearless he is in taking contact to make plays but tonight that was ramped up to 11. He was all over the ice for the Avs and his most important play might have been one where he didn’t even do a lot as he displayed great awareness in negating an icing in the final few minutes by winning a footrace to a puck in the corner. Instead of a faceoff and a tired group, Kerfoot allowed the Avs to get set up in the neutral zone and eventually it paid dividends. Every little thing matters in those situations and Kerfoot came up big. He may never score again because he’s apparently cursed but he was really good tonight regardless.

Nathan MacKinnon (B+) – He was all over the place and again walked away with no goals or points. It’s weird when the Avs find ways to win without him scoring but they did tonight. Despite that, MacKinnon put nine shots on goal and was an animal in his own right. He was just a little production away from a killer night.

Patrik Nemeth (B-) – Avs fans love to hate on this guy enough that I wonder if he’s really underappreciated right now. He was really solid in this game as he worked well both offensively and defensively. This was a very respectable overall evening for 12.

Mikko Rantanen (INC) – Like I said after the last Stars game when Landeskog was hurt, Rantanen’s performance tonight is completely irrelevant and it’s all about his health moving forward. If he’s okay to play, it’s an A. If he’s hurt…well…

Carl Soderberg (B) – I really haven’t noticed Carl much in the last couple of weeks and tonight was another pretty quiet night for him overall. The offense has definitely taken a bit of a hit but his ENG that sealed it was as cool as it gets. Dead center of the net, no doubt about it.

Colin Wilson (C-) – Another frustrating night of missed opportunities for Wilson but instead of them being piled up in one end, the Stars generated a bunch of their own with Wilson out there as well. That makes the lack of capitalizing on opportunities a problem. He got a token assist on EJ’s goal as he made the simple play and watched two players do a great job in finishing it off. Kudos, but should have had more tonight from 22.

Nikita Zadorov (C+) – This felt like a classic Zadorov game. Defensively he was intimidating and forceful, blowing guys up and removing players from the pucks they tried carrying in his general vicinity. Then he’d get the puck and all the adventures would begin. This was perfectly displayed in the first period when he shut down Jamie Benn on a rush then won the puck a few moments later and turned the puck over and helped create one of the best scoring chances for the Stars all night. I’m giving Z the plus despite the penalty (Avs fans were upset with it but Z definitely leaned into Seguin a bit) and the turnovers and the negative Corsi because his physical presence played well in what was a pseudo playoff game. He fit right in and the Avs needed his snarl.