3 Keys: Kraken at Avalanche, Game 5 of Western 1st Round

(WC1) Kraken at (1C) Avalanche
Western Conference First Round, Game 5
Best-of-7 series tied 2-2
9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS, ALT, ROOT-NW

DENVER -- Tye Kartye could make his NHL debut on the top line for the Seattle Kraken against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Ball Arena on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old forward was on the left wing with center Matty Beniers and right wing Jordan Eberle at the morning skate, replacing Jared McCann, who led Seattle in goals (40) and points (70) during the regular season and was injured on a hit by Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar in Game 4.
"That would be, I'm sure, pretty exciting," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "But we'll see by tonight, and if he's in, he's going to go out and do a good job."
Kartye, an undrafted free agent, led American Hockey League rookies in scoring during the regular season with 57 points (28 goals, 29 assists) in 72 games for Coachella Valley.
"I'm excited," said Beniers, who led NHL rookies in scoring during the regular season with 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 80 games. "I'm excited for him. I think it's going to be fun."
Eberle said Kartye (5-foot-11, 202 pounds) is big, strong and can finish, and needs to play to his strengths.
RELATED: [Complete Avalanche vs Kraken series coverage]
"Obviously, you can make a big deal out of it being Game 5, first game and whatnot," Eberle said. "But I think at the end of the day, it's just another hockey game, and for him, it's just a matter of continuing to do what he's done."
When a best-of-7 series is tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 holds an all-time series record of 224-61 (.786 percent), including 5-3 last season.
Here are 3 keys for Game 5:

1. Makar's absence

Makar will serve a one-game suspension for interference on McCann. He is the reigning winner of the Norris Trophy, voted the NHL's best defenseman last season, and the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs when Colorado won the Stanley Cup last season.
He leads the Avalanche in average ice time (25:15) and has three points (one goal, two assists) in the series. Colorado will miss his ability to break out, pass the puck and find shooting lanes against a team that forechecks hard, clogs the middle and blocks shots.
"It's not ideal not having the best 'D' in the League, obviously," Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said. "But we're focused on just this one singular game, and I think even without him we can still beat these guys just tonight, and that's all our focus is on."
Asked if defenseman Jack Johnson could be an option after missing four games with a lower-body injury, Colorado coach Jared Bednar said: "We'll see. He's doing pretty good, though."

2. The start

Seattle has scored first and drawn the first penalty in each game.
"I think we want to try to continue the way we've played and try to keep the pedal down for 60 minutes," Eberle said.
How can the Avalanche get to their game quicker?
"I think we're ready to go mentally," MacKinnon said. "It's just, they've had good starts. I think we're really a structured team, and maybe we're just playing a little too into that and not just aggressive enough. It's a fine line."

3. Power play

The Kraken have scored three power-play goals over the past two games and are 3-for-16 in the series (18.8 percent).
The Avalanche broke through in Game 4 but are 1-for-10 (10 percent) in the series, and now they won't have Makar, the quarterback of the top unit.
"We've been creating momentum on it for the most part of the series, which is what you're trying to do," said Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews, who will replace Makar on the first power-play unit. "Sometimes you're not going to be able to score all the time, but obviously we're hoping to put a few in the back of the net here."

Kraken projected lineup

Tye Kartye -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz -- Alex Wennberg -- Morgan Geekie
Eeli Tolvanen -- Yanni Gourde -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Brandon Tanev -- Ryan Donato -- Daniel Sprong
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Carson Soucy -- Justin Schultz
Philipp Grubauer
Martin Jones
Scratched: Cale Fleury, Jaycob Megna, Jesper Froden, Chris Driedger
Injured: Andre Burakovsky (lower body), Joonas Donskoi (upper body), John Hayden (lower body), Jared McCann (undisclosed)

Avalanche projected lineup

Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Evan Rodrigues
Matt Nieto -- J.T. Compher -- Mikko Rantanen
Andrew Cogliano -- Lars Eller -- Logan O'Connor
Alex Newhook -- Denis Malgin
Devon Toews -- Samuel Girard
Jack Johnson -- Bowen Byram
Josh Manson -- Erik Johnson
Brad Hunt
Alexandar Georgiev
Pavel Francouz
Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Keith Kinkaid, Ben Meyers, Valeri Nichushkin
Injured: Gabriel Landeskog (knee), Darren Helm (lower body)
Suspended: Cale Makar

Status report

The Avalanche could dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, Bednar said. ... Nichushkin, a forward, will missed his third straight game for personal reasons; there is no timetable for his return.
NHL.com independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed to this report