COLORADO AVALANCHE (2-0-0) AT SEATTLE KRAKEN (0-2-1)
8:00 PM MST | CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA | WATCH: ESPN | LISTEN: 92.5FM
The Colorado Avalanche take on the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night for the season's third game at Climate Pledge Arena. It’s the first meeting between the clubs since their first-round matchup in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The contest is the second game of a doubleheader on ESPN, with puck drop for the Avalanche-Kraken tilt set for 8 p.m. MDT.
Latest Results:
October 14, 2023 | COL: 2, SJ: 1 (SO)
October 14, 2023 | STL: 2, SEA: 1 (SO)
AVS ON A ROLL
Colorado enters Tuesday’s matchup with two road wins under their belt, the latest being a 2-1 shootout win against San Jose. Alexandar Georgiev accumulated his 100th career win, bringing his all-time record to 100-64-17. Ten Avalanche skaters have registered at least a point in the young season, with three players accumulating multiple points in the first two games of the season. Mikko Rantanen leads Colorado in points (2g/2a), followed by a tie between Cale Makar (2g/1a), and Nathan MacKinnon (1g/2a).
COLORADO vs SAN JOSE 10.14.23 RECAP
The Colorado Avalanche came back from behind with Makar scoring the game-tying goal with 1:26 left in the third period, setting the table for a 2-1 shootout win against San Jose at the SAP Center on Saturday.
Sharks forward Thomas Bordeleau scored the first goal of his career in the first period when he tipped a slap shot by Matt Benning to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.
Although there was no scoring in the second period, Makar tied the game at one apiece with 1:26 remaining in the third period, sending the game to overtime, followed by a shootout.
Rantanen scored the lone goal of the shootout with a top-shelf shot that went between the pipes of San Jose's netminder Mackenzie Blackwood.
Georgiev accumulated his 100th career win by saving 20 of the 21 shots he faced in regulation and all three of the Sharks shootout attempts to secure a 2-0-0 start for Colorado.
The Avalanche finished with 52 shots on goal, the fourth-most in a single game in franchise history.
HISTORY
Colorado owns a 3-2-1 all-time record against Seattle, with a 2-1-0 mark on the road. Last season the Avalanche went 1-1-1 against the Kraken, with Colorado winning the lone matchup at Climate Pledge Arena. Tuesday’s matchup is the first of three games between the two teams this season with the others set for November 9, 2023, and November 13, 2023. This is the first time the Avalanche and Kraken face off since Colorado was eliminated by Seattle in the first round of the playoffs last season. Both teams go into today's matchup with their latest respective games ending in shootout.
LINEUP UPDATES
The team practiced in San Jose before leaving for Seattle on Tuesday. Below are the line combinations and defensive pairings the Avalanche deployed.
Forwards
Drouin – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Lehkonen – Johansen – Nichushkin
Wood – Colton – Tatar
Cogliano – Olofsson – O'Connor
Defensemen
Toews – Makar
Girard – Byram
Manson – Johnson
Goalies
Georgiev
Annunen
Prosvetov
AVALANCHE AWAITS
Rantanen had 10 points (7g/3a) in the seven-game playoff series against the Kraken last season. The winger also notched multi-point performances in all three games played at Climate Pledge Arena that series (April 22, 2g/1a; April 24, 2g; April 28, 1g/1a).
Although Georgiev hasn’t been between the pipes in a regular-season game at Climate Pledge Arena, he was 2-1 against the Kraken in Seattle during the playoffs with a .916 save percentage and 2.63 GAA.
Makar has three goals and an assist, averaging an even 2.00 points per game across two career regular-season contests at Climate Pledge Arena.
CRACKING SEATTLE’S CODE
Jaden Schwartz led Seattle in points and assists (1g/3a) against the Avalanche last season, despite only playing in two games. In each of the two contests, Schwartz had multi-point appearances with (1g/1a) on Oct. 21, 2022, and two assists on March 5, 2023. The alternate captain signed with Seattle as a free agent on July 28, 2021.
Jared McCann leads all-active Kraken skaters with five points (2g/3a) in six career games against the Avalanche.
Jordan Eberle and Schwartz are tied for second with four career points against the Avalanche. Eberle has accumulated two goals and two assists in six games, while Schwartz recorded one goal and three assists in half the number of games.
NUMBERS GAME
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Makar leads current Avalanche skaters in career points (3g/3a) across five games versus the Kraken. During Seattle’s first season as a franchise, when the two teams collided for their first matchup (Nov. 19, 2021), Makar had a multi-point game recording two goals and one assist.
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Valeri Nichushkin leads the Avalanche with four assists in six career games played against Seattle.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“They’re doing a good job. I mean, that’s a key penalty kill in overtime. We were pretty disciplined tonight, but we got called for a few and they were at key times. You have to be sharp. We’ve been rotating some of the more experienced guys that have been with us and have earned that trust, and we’re spotting in some other guys. Everyone seems to be doing a good job, and we have lots of options.”
- Colorado Head Coach Jared Bednar on Colorado’s penalty kill
