Avalanche score seven, defeat Kraken for fourth straight win

SEATTLE --Cale Makar had two goals and an assist when the Colorado Avalanche won their fourth game in a row, 7-3 against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Friday.

"Just trying to get the legs back and making sure that I can contribute every night for the team," Makar said. "That's what I want to be, obviously. I know this isn't going to happen every night where you get two goals, but at the same time, we're creating those chances and that's what's giving us opportunities to get those goals."
Andre Burakovsky scored twice, and Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves for Colorado (8-5-1). Nazem Kadri had two assists to extend his point streak to eight games (four goals, 11 assists), which is one shy of his career high.
"[Kadri] is doing a really good job on both ends of the ice," Makar said. "He's been unbelievable on draws for us right now. Snapping it back for us on the power play and been on the penalty kill. So he has been an integral part to our team."
The Kraken (4-12-1) lost their sixth straight game. Philipp Grubauer made 14 saves in his first game against his former team after replacing Chris Driedger in the second period. Driedger allowed four goals on 13 shots.
Burakovsky scored a power-play goal to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 4:04 of the first period when he found a loose puck and shot it into the net.

Valeri Nichushkin made it 2-0 at 6:39 with a shorthanded goal on a breakaway after two Kraken defensemen collided.
"The shorthanded goal has a way of taking the wind out of your sails for sure," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "We got back to it and stayed with it at that point in time. You know, we dug ourselves a hole, but it didn't feel like there was a real sag in terms of the mentality on the bench."
Makar scored on a wrist shot through traffic to make it 3-0 at 3:01 of the second, and Burakovsky scored his second power-play goal at 5:33 of the second period for a 4-0 lead.
"It was nice to score on the power play," Burakovsky said. "I think we've been pretty good on moving the puck and finding ways to score. So obviously, we're seeing what's in practice."

Makar made it 5-0 at 12:48 of the second when he put back his own rebound.
Erik Johnson then scored his second of the year at 17:17 of the second to make it 6-0.
"I was calling for it, it was a little bit ahead of me, but great players make adjustments, right?" Johnson said. "It was a great play. I didn't score on [Grubauer] in four years of practice. So, somehow I scored on him tonight."
Nicolas Aube-Kubel pushed the lead to 7-0 at 4:47 of the third period.
Jordan Eberle ended the shutout bid with a power-play goal at 5:57 of the third. Brandon Tanev scored another Kraken power-play goal at 8:30 to make it 7-2.
Colin Blackwell scored his first with the Kraken at 15:12 for the 7-3 final.
"There's only one way out of it and that's to keep grinding," Hakstol said. "That's to stick together and got to find a way to dig out a win and all of a sudden the weight comes off and things head in the right direction. We didn't do that tonight. That's disappointing for everybody. But you have a choice. You have a choice to make in terms of how you approach the next day and you know what your resiliency is."
NOTES: The Avalanche lead the NHL with four shorthanded goals. Nichushkin's was his third in the NHL. … Seattle is 0-9-0 when trailing after the first period. Colorado is 7-0-0 when leading after the first period. … Makar's three-point game was his eighth in the NHL, tying John-Michael Liles for third-most by a defenseman in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history. Tyson Barrie is first with 17, and Sandis Ozolinsh is second with 11.