Avs/Stars Grades - Neato

The Colorado Avalanche bent but did not break in the third period, and a Matt Nieto hat trick capped off a 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars.

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

Sven Andrighetto (D) – The top line struggled against the Stars big line, and mistakes cost them. Andrighetto turned it over to Benn prior to Benn’s second goal of the game.  He had issues clearing the puck all night.  He ended up -3 on the night.

Mark Barberio (A) – Barberio scored a huge goal, which ended up being the game winner, late in the second period in his 200th NHL game. He had a really strong game all night, pushing the play offensively the entire game.

Tyson Barrie (C-) – Probably Barrie’s roughest game of the year all around, but he still ends up continuing his point streak with another assist.

Chris Bigras (C) – The young defenseman got back into the lineup and had a relatively quiet night, which isn’t a bad thing for him.  The coaching staff wanted to see him avoid some mistakes at the offensive blueline and it appears he did that tonight.

Gabriel Bourque (B-) – Bourque came out firing with some big hits in the first period, and provided some energy.  He ended up playing some big shifts in the third period on the top lines in a defensive role.

Blake Comeau (A) – The ultimate playmaker, as Comeau is known around town, ended up with three assists and played really well all night.  His forechecking was on point all night.

Matt Duchene (B) – He continues to be dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 64 percent of his faceoffs, and that line was the only one that managed to stay above 50% in terms of possession all night.  Picks up another assist to keep his scoring lead.

A.J. Greer (C+) – Like Bourque, Greer came out his usual pesky self but he quieted down the rest of the night.  He was getting ice time late in the game, so that’s a good sign for him.

Erik Johnson (C+) – EJ is playing a lot but not always playing super smart.  He got the job done well enough tonight, with almost 28 minutes of ice time.

Alexander Kerfoot (C) – He did surprisingly well in the faceoff circle, and had an OK night. But the4-minute high sticking penalty wasn’t the greatest.

Gabriel Landeskog (A) – That was a game that the Captain decided he wanted to take over, shooting the puck consistently all night, leading  the team with 7 shot attempts at 5 on 5.

Anton Lindholm (B) – Easily Lindholm’s best game of the year, and he was rewarded with a promotion onto the top pairing for the last half of the game.

Nathan MacKinnon (D) – MacK had a rough night going head to head with Seguin, and made some mistakes defensively.  He shot the puck a lot more, which is good to see, but the Avs won’t win a lot of games where MacK is beat up by the other teams top line.

Matt Nieto (A) – In Nieto we trust.  All it took was one awesome game for him to jump into a tie for the team lead in goals.  A special night for him, who needed it to get his season going.

Mikko Rantanen (D) – More of the same with Rantanen, who isn’t providing much at even strength.  I have to say he looks real slow this year, and with a league that’s getting faster and faster, that’s not good.

Carl Soderberg (B+) – This guy, outside of some penalties here and there, has done nothing but earn more ice time. He took advantage of it tonight, and added another assist and drew a penalty of his own on the Stars.

Semyon Varlamov (B) – It appears that the third goal was tipped in, and that was really the only questionable one on the night. He played fantastic, especially in the third, when the Avs got caved in a bit in their own end.

Nail Yakupov (B) – The Yak Attack didn’t pick up any points of his own, but played solid all night and led the team in possession.  He even dropped down to the ice to block a shot in the first.

Nikita Zadorov (D) – He had a fine first period, but things went downhill from there.  He seems to be trying to do a bit too much, but just too many mistakes right now.  The coaches still had him out there late in the game, so there’s still some faith.

The Avs hit the road and take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday evening.  The game starts at 4 PM MST.