First Round Game 7 Preview: Avalanche vs. Kraken

COLORADO AVALANCHE (3-3) AT SEATTLE KRAKEN (3-3)
7:30 PM MT | BALL ARENAWATCH:ALTITUDE / TNT
LISTEN: 92.5FM/950 AM
The Colorado Avalanche are seeking to clinch the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs as they take on the Seattle Kraken on Sunday night at Ball Arena in Game 7. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. MT on TNT and Altitude Sports. The best-of-seven series tied 3-3. The winner will advance to the Second Round to take on Central Division foe, the Dallas Stars.

LAST TIME OUT - GAME 6 RECAP

The Colorado Avalanche return home to Ball Arena with the series tied 3-3 after defeating the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Friday night in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena. Forward Mikko Rantanen notched his sixth goal of the playoffs and forward Artturi Lehkonen found the back of the net twice for his second and third goals of the postseason. Defenseman Erik Johnson scored his first goal of the playoffs after not netting a goal in the regular season. Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev stopped 22 of the 23 shots that came his way.
Defenseman Vince Dunn scored an unassisted goal, Seattle's only in Game 6. Goalie Philipp Grubauer turned away 35 of the 38 shots he faced.

THE LAST TIME - GAME 7 HEROICS

\The last time the Colorado Avalanche won a Game 7 was on May 15, 2002 in the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks as Colorado shut out San Jose 1-0.*

SERIES SHOWDOWN - SERIES IS TIED 3-3

9

Mikko Rantanen's nine points (6g/3a) are tied for the sixth-most among all skaters.

10

The Kraken are the 10th franchise in NHL history to require a Game 7 in their first-ever playoff series and first since the Wild against the Avalanche in the 2003 Conference Quarterfinals.

1

The team that scores first is 143-47 (.753) in the 190 all-time Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (5-1 in 2022). Home teams own a 111-79 (.584) advantage in the 190 all-time Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (4-2 in 2022).

HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS

| SHOTS | 199 | 183 | | HITS | 219 | 244 | | BLOCKS | 99 | 105 | | PIMs | 50 | 42 | | SCORING | 18 | 16 | | SPECIAL TEAMS | 1-17 | 3-21 | | GF/G | 3.00 | 2.67 | | GA/G | 2.67 | 3.00 | | FOW% | 54.5% | 45.5% | | | Avalanche | Kraken | | --- | --- | --- |

LINEUP UPDATES

Avalanche

Darren HelmUndisclosed
Gabriel LandeskogLower body
Josh MansonLower body
Valeri Nichushkin Personal reasons
Andrew Cogliano Upper body

Kraken

Joonas Donskoi * Upper body
Andre Burakovsky* Lower body
Jared McCann Upper body
John Hayden Lower body

GOALTENDING MATCHUP

Alexandar Georgiev and Philipp Grubauer are each 3-3-0 through six starts apiece. Georgiev has the slight edge at sV% (.919 vs. Grubauer's .913), while Grubauer has an even thinner edge at GAA (2.68 vs. Georgiev's 2.69).

HEATING UP

Cale Makar finished with two points (2a) to reach 49 career postseason assists, surpassing Sandis Ozolinsh (47) for the most postseason assists by a defenseman in franchise history and sixth-most among all Avalanche/Nordiques skaters. Makar has recorded 65-career points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tying Ozolinsh for most career postseason points by a defenseman in franchise history and eighth-most among all Avalanche/Nordiques skaters. Makar's performance was his ninth career multi-assist game in the playoffs, tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the fifth-most such outings in franchise history.
Mikko Rantanenrecorded two points (1g/1a) for his 28th career multi-point game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, passing Nathan MacKinnon (27) for the third-most multi-point games in franchise history. Rantanen's assist was the 57th of his postseason career, tying Peter Stastny for third most among all Avalanche/Nordiques skaters.
Erik Johnson's marker stood as the game winner, his first career game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Kraken scored the first goal of the game for the sixth-consecutive game making them the only NHL team to do so ever in their postseason debut.

QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK

"To get where you want to go - which is to win the Cup again - there is awlways adversity. You battle through adversity to reach your goals and it's not always easy." - Defenseman Erik Johnson on the series against the Kraken