Avs/Preds Grades - Questionable decisions haunt the Avs

A string of poor decisions in the second period hurt the Colorado Avalanche on their way to a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators.

How did each player perform?  Let’s find out…

Sven Andrighetto (C) – He had the best possession numbers on the team but had a relatively quiet night overall, including the fumbling of the puck a few times in the corner.

Mark Barberio (D) – I’m not sure Barberio knew that Sissons was so wide open coming down the slot because he almost played it like he wasn’t even there on the third Preds goal.

Tyson Barrie (D) – It wasn’t a pleasant night for the Avs’ blueline, and Barrie had his roughest night to date, despite picking up another assist.  He got completely burned by Arvidsson in a one-on-one move in the first only to be bailed out by Varly and lost his man altogether on the final goal.

Chris Bigras (D) – I’m not sure why he decided to dive at center ice to block a pass prior to the third goal.  It wasn’t his man behind him, and all it did was take him completely out of position.  He played more tonight than he had in previous games but had some mistakes with the puck as well.

Blake Comeau (C-) – Comeau isn’t my first choice to put out there on a 5-on-3 against, and he certainly isn’t the first choice to take the faceoff in that situation.  That’s all on the coaching staff.  He had a relatively quiet game otherwise.

J.T. Compher (C) – Compher started to show some fight in the third period, the first time all year we’ve seen him get real feisty, but his indecision with the puck is what started the mess prior to the Preds’ first goal.

Matt Duchene (D) – Instead of making an easy pass to Kerfoot, Duchene floated the puck out of play and ended up in the box during the Preds 5-on-3 goal.  A quiet night for him overall.

Erik Johnson (F) – Just a brutal game overall for EJ.  The decision to pinch on the first goal was inexcusable, and he was mistake prone all evening.  Given how much the team depends on him when he plays like that, they have next to no shot of winning.

Tyson Jost (C-) – He actually had a decent breakup on the penalty kill tonight, but didn’t provide a whole lot at even strength.  His possession numbers were the worst on the team.

Alexander Kerfoot (C+) – He SHOULD have had a breakaway in the first but got tripped up and somehow there was no call.  He had a decent night and is a puck hound, but tonight was one of the first nights where his lack of size was very obvious, as he was overpowered by Preds players all evening.

Gabriel Landeskog (F) – You have to know the rules and what they’re calling these days, and you certainly can’t take a slashing penalty when you’re already down a man.  His lack of offense 5-on-5 is worrisome.  He led a 3-on-1 in the third period, and didn’t pass it, didn’t shoot it, but just lost the puck altogether.

Anton Lindholm (C-) – Lindholm came back into the lineup and he was relatively quiet, which is more than you can say for the other defenders on the team.

Nathan MacKinnon (D) – Maybe the flukey goal will get him going, but it certainly didn’t start tonight.  For a guy who almost shot too much the last few seasons, he isn’t shooting at all this year 5-on-5 and it’s perplexing.

Mikko Rantanen (F) – What the heck is going on with Mikko at even strength?  For a giant of a man, he’s incredibly easy to knock off the puck, and when he gets the puck, his decision-making is awful.  He has attempted a measly 12 shot attempts at even strength through 7 games, which is unacceptable.  They need a lot more out of him.

Carl Soderberg (D+) – Another penalty for Soderberg tonight, which is starting to add up, but he did create some chances.  He started to get some time with skilled players in the third when Bednar went full on Blender mode with the lines.

Semyon Varlamov (D) – Certainly his weakest start to date but he wasn’t given a ton of help overall.  Just glad to see him get up after Sissons bowled him over after his goal.

Colin Wilson (D) – Returning to the town that he spent all of his NHL career prior to the trade this summer, Wilson did nothing to make them think they’re missing out.  I like his defensive effort but there hasn’t been a ton there offensively at even strength.

Nail Yakupov (D) – Yak wasn’t taking anything from anyone in the third period, but as far as his game goes, I think that was the Yak we were worried we were going to get.  He was running around a lot and doing very little.

Nikita Zadorov (D) – He was left on an island on the Preds first goal but could have played it better.  He had some issues with the puck, and also had to play a shift in the second with Yakupov’s stick after his broke.  We have yet to see a big hit from Z, and I wonder if the coaches have reeled him in a bit too much.  He’s jumping in the play more this year.

The Avalanche return home to face the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.  The game starts at 7 PM MST.