Avalanche Take Series Lead After 6-4 Game 3 Victory Over Kraken

Two down, two to go.
The Colorado Avalanche are now have a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven First Round series of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Seattle Kraken after defeating Seattle 6-4 in Game 3 of on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena.

For the Avalanche, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Ratnanen (2G, 1A) each scored twice, while Cale Makar (1G, 1A) also scored. J.T. Compher added a shorthanded strike. Devon Toews and Artturi Lehkonen each handed out two assists. In net, Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 25 of the 29 shots he faced.
For the Kraken, Jaden Schwartz scored twice including once on the power play, while Jamie Oleksiak and Matty Berniers also found the back of the net. In between the pipes, former Avalanche netminder Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves on 33 shots.

GAME SUMMARY:

With the series tied 1-1, the Avalanche showed resilience and urgency in Game 3 to come out with a 6-4 win and take a 2-1 series lead. Despite facing even more changes to the lineup due to injuries - which resulted in alterations in the assembly of the lineup - and some adversity early on, Colorado continued to elevate their play the further into the game to complete yet another comeback win. Their effort was backed by strong performances from the entirety of their lineup, but was spearheaded by MacKinnon (two goals), Makar (1G, 1A) and Rantanen (1G, 1A).
"[MacKinnon] was the difference maker that we've come to expect," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said."In big games, in must-win games, in critical games, in the regular season or in playoffs. He played with great speed, competitiveness, he was physical. When he got the puck he was really tough to check."
Colorado got off to a dismal start in Game 3, as they fell down to a 1-0 deficit early on. The Kraken were fired up in front of their home crowd as they took the ice for the first-ever playoff game in the organization's two-year history.
Seattle nearly scored in the opening few minutes as Colorado failed to clear their zone and the Kraken countered on an odd-man rush. Ben Meyers took a slashing penalty at 2:30 to try and prevent Seattle forward Jared McCann from scoring.
The Avalanche came up with a clutch penalty kill, but the Kraken continued to push - while holding a 7-1 shot in edge through seven minutes - and eventually capitalized at 6:08 with an even-strength strike.
After failing to clear their zone once more, Seattle hemmed Colorado in their zone. As the puck was sent out to the point, Justin Schultz fired a shot on net. At the net front, Schwartz redirected the shot from the air past Georgiev's far pad.
The Avalanche received a power play at 12:49 and weren't able to convert - despite Artturi Lehkonen generating a nice look off a one timer from the slot - but began to pick up their game and press the Kraken.
Colorado then was assessed with its second penalty of the period at 15:46 as Samuel Girard was called ro goaltender interference. On Seattle's power play, Lehkonen chipped the puck free in the defensive zone, where Cale Makar picked it up. The defenseman carried it up ice for a two-on-one rush with Compher at his flank. Makar sent a lateral feed to Compher, who toe-dragged across the crease and tucked it past Grubauer to even the score 1-1 at 16:07.

Tied 1-1, the Avalanche were awarded a power play at 18:49, as McCann was called for tripping, but the power play was short lived as Makar was called for tripping at 18:59.
With 1:01 left in the first period and played at four-on-four, Mikko Rantanen sprung MacKinnon for a breakaway. The centerman jetted up ice and beat Grubauer with a quick wrist shot under his glove side to give Colorado a 2-1 lead at 19:15.

Colorado picked up where they left off in the second period as they quickly netted another strike to take a 3-1 lead. Off an offensive zone faceoff win by Alex Newhook, the puck dropped back to Makar. The blueliner took a stride and unleashed a blistering blast on net that sailed past Grubauer at 4:33.

The Avalanche continued to put forth a dominate effort - where they went on to outshoot the Kraken 15-8 in the frame - but Seattle stifled their momentum with two quick strikes in the span of 19 seconds in the latter half of the period to tie the score 3-3 heading into the final period of play.
The Kraken first trimmed their deficit down 3-2 at 12:51 and after killing off a penalty at 9:29. After chasing down the puck in the offensive zone, Seattle hemmed Colorado in their own zone as they failed to clear the puck. Yanni Gourde snapped the puck to atop of the right faceoff circle to Oleksiak. From there, the 6-foot-7, 257-pound defenseman took the puck from his forehand to backhand past Rantanen, skated into the slot and roofed a backhander past Georgiev's shoulder at 12:51.
As the crowd at Climate Pledge Arena erupted, Seattle almost immediately tied the game up 3-3. Just 19 seconds later, the Kraken forechecked the Avalanche. From behind the net, McCann collected possession of the puck and tapped it to the near post to Berniers. The rookie corralled the puck with his skate and then sent a shot past Georgie at 13:10 for the equalizer.
With the score tied, Colorado came out with a commanding effort in the third period as they scored twice on three shots to up their lead 5-3.
The Avalanche first scored on a quick transition play at 3:01. Devon Toews carried the puck from the defensive zone all the way into the left circle in the offensive zone where he snapped a lateral feed into the slot. Rantanen whipped the one-timer past Grubauer to give Colorado a 4-3 lead.

Just 1:28 later, Evan Rodrigues sent a pass from behind the net to Bowen Byram in the right faceoff circle. The 21-year-old defenseman played MacKinnon near Seattle's bench. With the puck on his stick, the centerman took Ryan Donato one-on-one, stickhandled and walked past him into the lower right circle where MacKinnon sniped a wrist shot over Grubauer's right shoulder at 4:29 to give the Avalanche a 5-3 lead.
Down two goals and after failing to convert on a power play at 7:52, Kraken Head Coach Dave Hakstol pulled Grubauer with over three minutes left in the period. Rantanen collected a pass from Lehkonen and fired the puck into Seattle's empty net at 17:64 to further Colorado's lead 6-3.

MacKinnon was sent to the box at 19:16 and the Kraken managed to notch the first power-play goal of the series as they mirrored their first goal. At the net front, Schwartz redirected a shot - for his second goal of the game - from Schultz at 19:20 to trim the final score down 6-4.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Compher buried his first goal of the postseason and 14th-career goal in the playoffs. The shorthanded strike was his second-career in the postseason.
• MacKinnon tallied his first and second goals of the postseason.
• Rantanen netted his second and third goals of the postseason.
• Makar scored his first goal of the postseason.
• Andrew Cogliano made his postseason debut after previously missing Games 1 & 2 after sustaining an upper-body injury. And while Colorado's lineup got a boost from Cogliano drawing back in the lineup, the team was without Valeri Nichushkin (personal reasons) and Darren Helm who were sidelined.
• Georgiev improved his postseason record to 2-1-0.
• Colorado finished the game 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-6 on the penalty kill.
• Since the 2022 postseason, Colorado leads all NHL clubs in comeback wins with 12.
• Darren Helm, Valeri Nichushkin, Kurtis MacDermid, Ben Meyers, Brad Hunt, Jack Johnson (lower body), and Keith Kinkaid were scratches for the Avalanche. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog - who missed the entire regular season - will not play in the playoffs due to a knee injury.

NEXT GAME:

The First Round series between Colorado and Seattle continues in Seattle with Game 4 on Monday night. The puck drops between the Avalanche and Kraken at 8:00 p.m. MT.