Avalanche Heavy-Hitters Tip Scales Against Kraken w/Recap & Broadcast

SEATTLE — It was the first ever Stanley Cup Playoff game hosted at Climate Pledge Arena. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen used it as a springboard for the Colorado Avalanche (51-24-7, 2-1) to take a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken and a (46-28-8, 1-2) and 2-1 series lead on Saturday night.  

First, I apologize that something came up for this weekend and I can’t make the story the usual length I would like. But I will make sure to hit the important points! 

We’ve talked about the Kraken (PP 19.8 (21); PK: 76.7 (21) special teams being nothing more than average at best. Well, they did get their first powerplay goal to go 1-for-11 in the series so far… but they opened the game giving up a shorthanded goal to J.T. Compher. The Avalanche are 0-for-7 with the man advantage so that is good for the Kraken on the penalty kill, but the chances that they kept allowing allowed the Colorado attack to begin to percolate.  

Nathan MacKinnon was a demon in this game as he scored a breakaway goal at 19:16 in the first stanza and just couldn’t be caught as he was strides ahead of the defense.  

Cale Makar made it a 3-1 game as he let a bullet go that beat Philipp Grubauer near the top of the left crossbar.  

The Mikko Rantanen and MacKinnon experience proved too much for the Kraken in the end dropping the game but dropping my jaw in the process. MacKinnon completed a full-spin and just dominated the defense with a stride deke to put home his second goal of the game.  

Opening the capsules and the series I wondered if the Kraken could make this a six-game series or more. It seems to me that the Avalanche are starting to expose some elements on the ice and may be looking to snuff out Seattle quickly.  

The Kraken had a very electric spurt of 19 seconds in the second period in which defenseman Jamie Oleksiak and Calder Trophy finalist Matty Beniers gave the team life. It was Oleksiak who put Rantanen in a blender and scored off a backhand move. Beniers had located a second rebound given up by Alexandar Georgiev and tied the game up at 3-3 after two periods of play. 

The Kraken have fought well so far, but it is going to take a lot more to push the Avalanche to the brink of elimination. We will see if they can even the series on Monday at 10 p.m. EST on TBS.  

BOX SCORE 

COL 2 1 3 — 6 

SEA 1 2 1 — 4 

COLORADO AVALANCHE 

First Period: J.T. Compher (SHG), Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen; Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews 

Second Period: Makar, Alex Newhook 

Third Period: Rantanen, Toews; MacKinnon, Bowen Byram, Evan Rodrigues; Rantanen (EN), Lehkonen   

Goalies: Alexandar Georgiev (W, 25 Saves) 

SEATTLE KRAKEN 

First Period: Jaden Schwartz, Justin Schultz, Alex Wennberg 

Second Period: Jamie Oleksiak, Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand; Matty Beniers, Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle   

Third Period: Schwartz (PPG), Schultz 

Goalies: Philipp Grubauer (L, 28 Saves)