Colorado Avalanche Player Grades: The Playoffs
The Colorado Avalanche did better than anyone expected in the playoffs. So did some of the players, while others did not.
It was a dream for the Colorado Avalanche to make the playoffs again. We all remember the pain of that 48-point season. And even the year before that, when they lost eight of their last nine to freefall out of playoff contention.
Additionally, the Avalanche did better than the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks, both of whom were swept. They even did better than their arch-nemesis Minnesota Wild, who lost in five.
What’s more, the Colorado Avalanche were playing the best team in the NHL, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Nashville Predators who had made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals the previous season. So, not only were the playoffs a treat in and of themselves, those two wins were icing on the cake.
Nonetheless, in these playoffs we definitely saw some ups and downs. Some players contributed everything they had and more. Others inexplicably didn’t live up to expectations. Yet others did the best they could within the roles they were given.
Let’s look at the Colorado Avalanche and grade their performances in the 2018 NHL playoffs.
Core Players
Nathan MacKinnon: A
Center Nathan MacKinnon was the reason the Avalanche were in the playoffs, and he didn’t disappoint once there. He was second only to Gabriel Landeskog in points with six (3 goals, 3 assists). He came up big when the Avs needed him.
Gabriel Landeskog: A+
Captain Gabriel Landeskog was the beast of the playoffs for the Avalanche. He recorded four goals and three assists. What’s more, he led the team both on and off the ice as a captain should. The man was built for the playoffs.
Mikko Rantanen: D
Right wing Mikko Rantanen was the biggest disappointment of the playoffs. He had a stellar regular season, recording 29 goals and 55 assists for 84 points. Yet he fell completely flat in the playoffs, recording just four assists. What’s more, he looked lost about half the time. We were all hoping he was hiding an injury, but he went on to play well at IIHF Worlds. Chock it up to a sophomore slump, which he didn’t suffer in the regular season.
Tyson Barrie: B-
In the first couple of games, there was some question of whether Tyson Barrie would even survive the series — the Predators were going after him pretty hard. However, Barrie survived and even went on to record four assists. I gave him a little extra credit since the Preds really were targeting him.
Nikita Zadorov: A+
Defenseman Nikita Zadorov came out and scored the first goal of the playoffs to show he meant business. And he never backed down. Like Landeskog, he was a beast on the ice. He also never took a bad penalty — or not too bad, considering his history. Zadorov was also one of the few players who didn’t look spent in Game 6. At the end of the season, we discovered he did all that while suffering from a shoulder injury.
Rookies
Tyson Jost: C
Center Tyson Jost was a little out of his element for a lot of the playoffs. It’s taking some work to develop him. However, he was never a liability on the ice, and he even recorded an assist. What’s more, he was another one of the players who showed up fully for Game 6.
Alexander Kerfoot: B-
You either saw Alexander Kerfoot or you didn’t. He seemed a little invisible for a lot of shifts. He did better than a lot of players on faceoffs — including MacKinnon. And he scored two goals. You can see the difference in maturity that age conveys between him and the other rookies.
Sam Girard: B-
Speaking of age — or lack in this case — I’m going to give defenseman Samuel Girard a bit of a pass. And while it’s true Filip Forsberg danced around him for a highlight-reel goal, our youngest rookie was but a babe. He also missed three of the six games with an injury.
J.T. Compher: B-
Like Kerfoot, center J.T. Compher struggled at times, too. He did record more points — three — but all of them were assists. He played hard but didn’t make any egregious mistakes. I think we’d all like to see him take a step forward next season.
Role Players: Forwards
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Carl Soderberg: C
Center Carl Soderberg was out of his talent element in the Nashville series. He recorded the best faceoffs percentage — 49.21 — but that’s the best you can say of his game. He recorded two assists. He didn’t do anything too bad, but he didn’t do anything too good, either.
Blake Comeau: B
Winger Blake Comeau had one of the better playoffs for the grinder line. He recorded two goals. He didn’t do much of anything else, but goals are goals. I’m a little surprised he didn’t show more physicality in the series.
Matt Nieto: B-
Like Soderberg, Matthew Nieto was outside of his talent element. Unlike Carl, though, Nieto seemed to step up his game to the best of his ability. He went hard every night. While there were a couple missed opportunities, he nonetheless recorded three assists.
Sven Andrighetto: A
Game. Winning. Goal. Right wing Sven Andrighetto didn’t do a whole lot more in the series. However, he extended the series to six by scoring the game-winning goal in Game 5 — in Nashville, no less. (I almost forgot — he also racked Ryan Hartman, which was hilarious.)
Colin Wilson: D
I’m ready to give up on the Colin Wilson experiment. I’m sad to say it doesn’t look like the center is living up to expectations. He couldn’t even score better than a 20-year-old rookie in over his head — just one assist. And he should have had some special insight since his former team is Nashville — and he went all the way to the Cup Finals with them.
Gabriel Bourque: B
I’m always irrationally annoyed when Bourque scores because I want a beautiful Nate goal or a rookie to pot one in. Good thing Gabriel Bourque doesn’t care about my prejudice. He scored two goals in the playoffs and did not look out of his element.
Role Players: Defensemen
Mark Barberio: C+
It’s always a roller coaster watching Mark Barberio play. He is a skilled puck-mover… until he isn’t. He earned an assist during the playoffs. We’ll take it.
Patrik Nemeth: C+
Speaking of skilled puck movers, Patrik Nemeth is not one of them. However, he shut players down when he could and overall didn’t look like a traffic cone out there. I gave him the plus because he recorded as many points as Wilson, a forward.
David Warsofsky: C
I didn’t really notice David Warsofsky in the four games he played. Considering he’s mostly an AHLer, and a small one at that, that’s a good thing.
Duncan Siemens: C+
I liked Duncan Siemens game this series. He played his usual heavy, mean game, and I think he made a difference in the five games he suited up for. Unfortunately, I suspect it wasn’t impressive enough to earn him a contract.
Goalies
Jonathan Bernier: D+
It’s maybe a little rude to give a player a bad grade partially because he got injured at a most inopportune time. But, sheesh, Jonathan Bernier, can you stay healthy? That said, he wasn’t throwing the best performance out there anyway — 3.87 goals against average and .883 save percentage.
Andrew Hammond: A-
Andrew Hammond sucked so bad in Game 6. He let in two soft goals, and that seemed to deflate what little air the Colorado Avalanche had left in them. However, I’m giving him the A for playing above his level — Game 6 was just his third-ever game for the Avalanche. Plus, he threw that most impressive Game 5 performance. And at the end, he recorded better stats that Bernier — 2.63 goals against, .933 save percentage.
It’s the off-season. The Colorado Avalanche have been busy sewing up some of the above players to contracts, including Mark Alt, Mark Barberio, and Gabriel Bourque.