Avs/Stars Grades - Yakupov Hype Train is Rolling

The Colorado Avalanche Thursday night got off to a red-hot start, scoring on their first three shots on their way to an easy 5-1 preseason victory over the Dallas Stars.

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

Sven Andrighetto (B) – Sven starts the preseason off well after a strong finish to the year with the Avs in the spring.  He scored a nice goal tonight, where he glided into the high slot and deflected a great pass from Bigras into the net.  He had several strong zone entries as well.

Mark Barberio (C) – Barberio looked like a guy who hadn’t practiced a ton.  He really struggled to get his shots through from the point on the power play, and didn’t have any real rushes up the ice where he takes advantage of his great speed.  I’m not sure what exactly his injury was, but maybe the lack of rushes indicate a lower-body problem.

Chris Bigras (B+) – A strong showing for Bigras, who made the great pass to Andrighetto and led the team in ice time on the night.  He played within himself and didn’t try to do too much, which may be a key for him.  He did bail out on a few plays in the third period to avoid getting hit, and that allowed the Stars to gain possession of the puck.

Sergei Boikov (INC) – Poor guy scores a goal early in the game and then moments later is done for the night with a shoulder injury.  It sounds like it’s, unfortunately, a long-term injury.

Gabriel Bourque (C+) – Bourque did a lot of good things on the penalty kill, including continuing to block shots, despite a 5-0 lead.  One shot block got praise from Landeskog, who got up on the bench to cheer him on.  He still has very little offense, as he had a great chance in the second period, only to miss the net by about three feet.

J.T. Compher (C) – A very quiet night for the rookie.  He took an offensive zone penalty but wasn’t able to create much offensively and wasn’t his usual pest self.

Matt Duchene (A-) – Duchene led the Avs with six shots on goal, and had a few others that missed the net.  His line was creating things all night, and they were dominant on the power play.

Felix Girard (B) – Girard did a lot of good things, particularly playing a big role on the Avs PK.  He even was able to create some chances and get some shots off.  His career was rejuvenated when he got traded to the organization, and he’s looked good in camp.

A.J. Greer (C) – I get what Greer is trying to do, trying to get noticed by being a pest. But I really would like to see more offense and skill to see if there’s a future top-6 player in there.  He really didn’t do much with the puck tonight, but created a lot of havoc in the third period and just generally annoyed the Stars. He appeared to injure his right hand in a third-period fight.

Alexander Kerfoot (A-) – The patience that he displayed on the Boikov goal was something.  He carried the puck into the zone, and pulled up and just waited for the right play to develop, before hitting Boikov for the goal.  His deflection goal was a nice show of hand-eye coordination.  So far, he’s taking advantage of the chances the Avs are giving him.

Gabriel Landeskog (C+) – I would say Landy had a quiet but efficient night.  He was in front of the net on the PP all night, so didn’t do much with the puck.  The most encouraging thing was the burst he showed on two separate breaks, one that created a penalty shot.  His hip has been an issue the last few years but looked good tonight.

Andrei Mironov (C) – Mironov had issues with the puck early, icing the puck when he wasn’t challenged and later turning it over right into the slot.  He got better as the game went on, but there are clear communication problems, as his teammates were yelling at him to do one thing but he would do another.

Reid Petryk (B) – Of all the AHL forwards, I thought he impressed the most.  He made a nice play to help create the first goal, and created some other chances later on.

Brandon Ranford (C) – He is very small out there on the ice, but doesn’t seem to shy away from physical contact.  The coaches won’t like the penalty he took to create the 5-on-3 that led to the Stars’ only goal.

Duncan Siemens (C+) – It’s safe to say that he avenged Boikov by beating the crap out of whoever hit him.  Beyond that, he played better than he did the other night but still had some more of the same issues.  He’s in a fight for his career right now.

Semyon Varlamov (A-) – It was a near flawless night for Varly until he gave up a bad rebound, but his movement looked good and he was battling.  His best saves of the night came on a breakaway in the second, and the other on a cross ice one timer with about a minute left in the game.

David Warsofsky (A) – If anyone is a darkhorse to make the team, it’s probably Warsofsky, who had a near flawless game.  He did a great job of using his wrist shot to get the puck through to the net, and was strong in his own end.

Nail Yakupov (A) – He follows up a two-assist game in the Burgundy and White scrimmage with a three-assist night tonight.  His best pass came in the third, where he showed patience entering the zone, and hit a streaking Duchene for the goal.  He unleashed a wicked one-timer in the first that nearly took Lehtonen’s head off.  The team is desperate for a shooter, and he may be what they need.

The Avs follow up this weekend with three games in three nights, starting Saturday when they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild.  That game starts at 4 PM.