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The Seattle Kraken overachieved, winning Game 1 in hostile territory against the defending Stanley Cup champions. But since then, the Avalanche have awoken.
In Games 2 and 3, Colorado has scored nine goals. On Saturday, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar seemed to wake up. This is not good news for the Seattle Kraken.
In the game, MacKinnon tallied two goals, Rantanen recorded three points, and Makar finished with two points and a game-high +3 rating. Despite an average night for goaltender Alexander Georgiev, the Avs rolled and beat the Kraken 6-4.
When the trio of Mackinnon, Rantanen, and Makar are going like they were on Saturday, there are not many players or teams that can keep up.
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They are nearly unstoppable. And for a Seattle team just getting its first steps in the postseason, this is a tall task ahead of Game 4.
On the flip side, the Avs did not have a ton of goal support outside of their big three. Without the Avs' scoring, Seattle was able to win Game 1 and come within one goal of taking Game 2, both in Colorado. That will be the key to Game 4. Slow those three down, and the Kraken have a shot.
A huge part of Seattle's early-series success was the play of goaltender Phillip Grubauer.
The former Avs netminder was excellent through two games and allowed the Kraken to remain in the game. But in Game 3, Grubauer was below average, allowing five goals on 33 shots (.848%).
If the Kraken are going to extend this series beyond five games, they need Grubauer to be at his best. He should be motivated to improve and perhaps, put on a show in front of his home crowd to try and steal the first home-ice playoff victory in Kraken history. Not a bad motivator.
Seattle Kraken Projected Lineup
- McCann-Beniers-Eberle
- Schwartz-Wennberg-Geekie
- Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand
- Froden-Donato-Tanev
- Dunn-Larsson
- Oleksiak-Borgen
- Soucy-Schultz
- Grubauer
- Daccord
Colorado Avalanche Projected Lineup
- Rodrigues - MacKinnon - Rantanen
- Nichushkin - Compher - Lehkonen
- Newhook - Eller - Malgin
- Nieto - Cogliano - O'Connor
- Toews - Makar
- Girard - Manson
- Byram - E. Johnson
- Georgiev
- Francouz
Prediction
The Avalanche are hot right now. Their best players are rolling, they have won two straight games, and they have a shot at a commanding 3-1 series lead tonight. If Georgiev can be good, they should win this game. If he struggles again, they may need to scratch and claw one out in hostile territory.
Avalanche 3, Kraken 2 (OT)
