Final Buzzer: OT and Not Over

Extra, extra, cheer (and boo Cale Makar) all about it. Jordan Eberle scored the overtime-winning goal on an early power play in the OT period. On a night when the Kraken faithful couldn't have been louder - or maybe it could be for the now-guaranteed Game 6 back here Friday night? - the veteran leader Eberle made the ultimate mega-volume statement with his rebound swat. Both Jaden Schwartz and Daniel Sprong were stopped by Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev on the play before Eberle scored the historic goal.

"What a cool atmosphere tonight," said a clearly satisfied Dave Hakstol in a packed media conference. "It was great the other night. It's always a little better when you win.
"You know what? Along the way, you've got to take a few seconds to enjoy things. That doesn't mean you're letting your foot off the gas. That doesn't mean that you're not focused on the next game Game 5 is Wednesday in Denver]. Everybody's got the ability to just relax, enjoy it for a few minutes, and then we get moving on. That's exactly what our group will do."
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"The fans are so great," said Yanni Gourde post-game. "This building gets so loud ... They love the team and they've been supporting us the first two years. It's so good to play in the playoff games in front of them."

Same Acts One and Two, Different Third

In a rerun no Kraken fan could enjoy, the home squad raced out to a 2-0 first-period lead and the 2022 defending Stanley Cup champions jumped back into a tie game with two goals from standout Mikko Rantanen.
But there were significant differences from a similar Game 2 scenario that ended in a 3-2 Avalanche win. For one thing, Seattle continued to play tough-nosed, opportunistic, fast hockey with 12 more shots in the middle period to add to 18 fired in Period 1. Avs goalie Alexandar Georgiev faced 12 Grade-A scoring chances in the first 40 minutes and four more in the third period, per Natural Stat Trick.
Another difference: Colorado did not score twice in the early minutes of the third period. Instead, the raucous, relentless Kraken crowd at Climate Pledge Arena roared at every potentially decisive turn during the full 20 exciting and excruciating minutes of the third period. The Kraken didn't let Colorado push much and pushed right back.
One of several hold-your-breath intervals featured Makar (boos raining down) passing to Nathan MacKinnon passing to Rantanen with Kraken's elite penalty killer, Adam Larsson, in the box for high sticking. The Seattle penalty killers got the job done with three pivotal clears from the defensive zone, including by Brandon Tanev, who was writhing on the ice from blocking a shot only to get to his feet, find the loose puck and fling up ice.
With 8:56 left, Kraken veteran forward Jaden Schwartz was jamming the puck net-front into Georgiev's left leg pad. A replay convinced the crowd the puck got under the pad for a score. But the on-ice officials conferred with Toronto's NHL "Situation Room" that upheld the original call: The puck was tucked under Georgiev's pad and was whistled dead.
The two teams played on, with Philipp Grubauer making several big saves against his former teammates and Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn barely missing the net on one of Seattle's best opportunities of the third frame. Grubauer didn't break to push the game into overtime amid what was effectively nonstop decibels of crowd appreciation for Kraken's fortitude. His counterpart in the Avalanche net, Alexandar Georgiev, made 37 saves and face 16 Grade-A chances in regulation.
"I thought we played an all-around pretty good game tonight," said Gourde when asked about what was said in the locker room before overtime. "We just got to stick with it. Stick to the process. The system worked for 60 minutes."

Fast Start Redux

Two minutes into this tilt, the Kraken had already fired five shots on goal. At the five-minute mark, the SOG total was 10-1 Kraken and the scoreboard favored Seattle with a 1-0 score. Young defenseman Will Borgen (wow, does he look like the right expansion draft pick from Buffalo) punctuated another Kraken fast start with his first-ever postseason goal in just the four appearances he's made so far this spring.
Borgen, never afraid to put pucks on the net, took a fake-shot pass from fellow defensive masher Adam Larsson to notch the third D-man goal in the four games of this thrilling-to-date postseason. No one, local fans, and national media doubters can deny this series, and the Kraken are Grade-A viewing.

Makar Playoff Enemy No. 1

The first-period storylines overflowed from there. For starters, when Jared McCann took off on a breakaway, the Kraken's 40-goal regular-season scorer shot high and Colorardo's Alexandar Georgiev, who plays more of a stand-up style than any other NHL goaltender, shouldered the puck high and out of play.
While the puck exited the ice, McCann veered to the left corner of the defensive zone. Avalanche star Cale Makar and 2022 Norris Trophy winner of the league's best defenseman, drove McCann into the boards, leading with a hand to the face, and slamming the Kraken forward's head into the boards, and then again falling to the ice. McCann couldn't manage to even get to his knees for a few minutes and exited straight to the locker room, getting help from trainer Mike Booi and teammate Brandon Tanev leaving the ice.
It appeared there was no initial penalty call on the hit, then the referees consulted linesmen for what they saw. Makar was assessed a five-minute major penalty (no shortened time if Seattle scores on the power play). But the play was reviewed and Makar's interference penalty was reduced to a two-minute minor. McCann did not return and Dave Hakstol said after the game McCann is definitely not available for Game 5 and probably longer than that.
"What I saw live and what I watched after the period on video is a late hit," said Hakstol. "Where the puck is out of play ... I believe the puck is being caught by a fan as Canner is being run into the wall.
Hakstol said the referees downgraded the original major call to a two-minute minor because the hit came when "a puck was in play at the battle."
"Obviously I disagree with that assessment," said Hakstol, "whether that by the refs or Toronto. It's not an accurate description of the play."
The home crowd, which was magically and almost impossibly louder and even more supportive than during Saturday's historic inaugural Stanley Cup Playoffs game at Climate Pledge Arena, did not approve of the call and took to booing not just the officials but Makar too every time he touched the puck from there out. Impressive, the Kraken faithful were in mid-history form.
On the ROOT SPORTS broadcast, analysts and former NHLers JT Brown and Eddie Olczyk were observing and agreeing Makar was looking over his shoulder a bit, expecting retaliation. During the next TV timeout, Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol was talking with referee Trevor Hanson for pretty much the entire break. Guess here? It was not about the "this-is-just-the-team's-second-season" high-fervor, name-an-NHL-arena any louder playoffs atmosphere here in Seattle.

Righteous Revenge

After Makar's hit, both teams were down a skater due to a Yanni Gourde roughing penalty (he lined up Makar's 21-year-old defensive partner), but the Kraken did get a bit of power play time when Gourde was released 59 seconds before Makar. On an ensuing possession in the Colorado zone, Justin Schultz skated hard to the left sideboard at the blue line to keep the puck in the zone. He passed to Daniel Sprong, who showed off his elite shot in this nationally-televised matchup ripping a shot off the far post and in. The best revenge? Ring up the scoreboard.

Schultz's primary assist is his fifth point of the series. He was signed by Kraken GM Ron Francis as a free agent and power-play quarterback with two Cup wins on his stat sheet. He's not disappointing in this first-round series after a strong regular season.

Hold on (a Two Minutes)

When Will Borgen was whistled for holding Colorado leading regular-season goal scorer Mikko Rantanen with 2:47 left in the second period, the Kraken D-man objected immediately with arms outstretched. A replay showed why Borgen protested so mightily. Rantanen actually grabbed Borgen's arm when the two were battling near the left corner of the Seattle defensive zone.
But the call went against the lesser-known Borgen and Rantanen wired a perfect shot past Philipp Grubauer to make it 2-2 in the final seconds of the power play. Rantanen snapped Grubauer's shutout earlier in the period on Colorado's 12th shot of the game. The Colorado winger, who notched 55 goals during the regular season, has five in four games in this first round.