The Seattle Kraken posted a 3-2 win to put the Colorado Avalanche on the brink of elimination on Wednesday.
The defending champions came within a goal with 3:37 remaining in the game, but Philipp Grubauer held on afterward to give the team a 3-2 series lead. He made 26 saves tonight, while Tye Kartye also hit the target in his first NHL playoff game.
“The end of matches are hard to watch when you are on the bench. The guys did a good job of containing the opponent, who has several threatening players. It was a bit scary when they scored the second goal,” said Jordan Eberle.
The Kraken will have the opportunity to finish Friday in front of their supporters.
“They will have the energy of despair. It will depend on the details and our involvement. It’s still far from over, we have to get the job done,” added Eberle.
No goals were scored in the first period for the first time in the series. Eeli Tolvanen got a good power-play chance hitting the post and the Avs were also frustrated on one occasion in the final minute.
Despite everything, the Seattle players could encourage each other knowing that they dominated this first period, especially in terms of possession of the puck and shots on net (15-8).
They continued this momentum in the second and Morgan Geekie finally rewarded his people by opening the scoring. He took Alexandar Georgiev by surprise as he came from behind the net to grab a rebound off Jaden Schwartz’s initial shot.
The Kraken have scored the first goal in each of the five games in the series so far. It’s only the second time it’s happened in 105 years on the circuit, since the 1917-1918 edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Nathan MacKinnon, however, replied immediately. Philipp Grubauer missed his punt by the boards and Mikko Rantanen intercepted the puck. He fired a wrist shot that first hit Grubauer’s glove before deflecting off MacKinnon’s skate in legal fashion as he raced to the net.
It didn’t break the Kraken’s back at all, as 2 minutes later Tye Kartye hit the target to regain a 2-1 lead.
Just after the Kraken neutralized a second power play, Yanni Gourde increased the gap by deflecting a shot from Carson Soucy early in the third period with the tip of his stick. Gourde was the 13th different Kraken player to rattle the ropes since the start of the playoffs.
“This is the story of our season. From day one, we knew we had a lot of good players, even if there isn’t the level of stars you see elsewhere. Everyone contributes,” Eberle pointed out.
The Avalanche are the team that have come from behind the most times in a game over the past two springs, 12 times, but despite Evan Rodrigues’ goal which reduced the gap to only one, the comeback stopped there.
Kartye replaced Jared McCann, who was injured in an incident with Cale Makar in the last clash. Makar was serving his one-game suspension today for obstructing McCann. While the latter was no longer in possession of the puck, he was tackled severely against the ramp by the defender.
