The Seattle Kraken ousted the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche with a 2-1 win in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:
- The teams went scoreless through the first period. The Kraken struck first for the seventh straight game with an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal at 3:24 in the second; he added another at 7:22 in the frame.
- Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon had a shot deflected off Mikko Rantanen’s pants into the net on the power play with 27.3 seconds to go in the second period, cutting Seattle’s lead in half. The assist marked MacKinnon’s 100th career playoff point.
- Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer had 33 saves while the Avalanche’s Alexandar Georgiev had 25.
- Seattle became the first franchise in NHL history to earn its first playoff series win against a reigning champion, per the NHL. The Kraken will play the Stars in the second round.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Avalanche burned by familiar face
Colorado couldn’t solve Grubauer, its former starting goalie. The top line generated quality chances throughout the night, but Grubauer seemed to have all the answers. He stopped MacKinnon on a high-danger slot in the first period and halted MacKinnon again in the second with a save at the post. Evan Rodrigues nearly scored, too, but couldn’t one-time a Devon Toews pass into the net. Colorado also hit multiple posts, including one on a Rantanen breakaway in the second. — Baugh
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Goalie battle goes to Grubauer
Grubauer played 113 games for the Avalanche over three seasons, before signing with the Kraken as a free agent, via the NHL expansion draft. Grubauer has had an up-and-down time since joining Seattle — over his first two seasons, he’s had 94 regular-season appearances; 90 starts; won just 35 times, lost 45 and had a singularly ordinary goals-against average (of 3.04) and save percentage (of .891).
But Grubauer had a strong finish to the regular season, and it carried over to the playoffs. He was at his finest in the opening period, however, which the Avalanche dominated, but couldn’t get a shot past him. And then he came to the rescue again, when the Avalanche pushed for the tie in the final minute, but couldn’t solve him. — Duhatschek
Avs’ depth runs thin
This series has taken a toll on Colorado’s forward depth. Gabriel Landeskog hasn’t played all season and is out for the playoffs with a knee injury. Valeri Nichushkin left the team for personal reasons, and Andrew Cogliano and Darren Helm are both out with injuries. By Game 7, coach Jared Bednar was forced to enter Brad Hunt, a defenseman, into the lineup as a forward.
The lack of scoring depth proved costly for the Avalanche: MacKinnon and the team’s top players had to carry the load, and Seattle’s depth ultimately outlasted them. Every Colorado goal of the series was either scored or assisted by MacKinnon, Rantanen, Toews or Cale Makar. — Baugh
Déjà vu on rescinded goal
Colorado seemed to seize the momentum early in the third period with a MacKinnon goal, but Seattle challenged that the play was offside. Sure enough, 17 seconds before the goal, Artturi Lehkonen crossed the blue line early. This isn’t the first time the Avalanche have suffered from an offside call in a Game 7. What would have been a game-tying goal from Colin Wilson in Game 7 of the 2019 second round was disallowed after a review found Landeskog was offside. — Baugh
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The Oliver Bjorkstand Show
Until the Avs made it close with a late goal in the second period, it had been the Bjorkstrand show for Seattle. Bjorkstrand, acquired by the Kraken last summer from the Columbus Blue Jackets, had only contributed two assists through the first six games of the series, but he came through with a pair of goals when they needed him most.
On his first, which opened the scoring and dramatically shifted the momentum of a game that was going all Colorado’s way up to that point, Bjorkstrand flipped an innocent backhander out of the corner, trying to get it to linemate Brandon Tanev. Instead, the puck deflected first off Alex Newhook’s stick and then Ben Meyers’ glove, changing directions twice, before squibbing past the goaltender Georgiev. Minutes later, with the Avalanche pressing to tie it up, the Kraken’s Eeli Tolvanen chipped a puck past Toews into neutral ice. Bjorkstrand, a right-handed shot, raced down the left side, fired a shot off the post that ricocheted in. Bjorkstrand also hit the post three times in the game. — Duhatschek
Kraken’s scoring balance wins out
Colorado relies so heavily on the trio of MacKinnon, Rantanen and Makar, while the Kraken is just the opposite. It’s a team that relies on contributions from throughout its lineup. When Bjorkstrand scored his first of the game, he became the 15th different Seattle player to score at least one goal in the series. No player had more than three. — Duhatschek
GO DEEPER
Duhatschek: How did the Kraken knock out the defending Stanley Cup champions?
Highlights of the game
TWO GOALS ON THE NIGHT FOR THE MAESTRO 👨🎨🎨 pic.twitter.com/KatdpwKEHn
— x – Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) May 1, 2023
Key stat
The Avalanche now have a six-game losing streak in Game 7s dating to the 2002 conference finals against the Red Wings.
NHL playoff bracket
View The Athletic’s NHL playoff bracket here.
Required reading
(Photo: Ron Chenoy / USA Today)
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