COLORADO AVALANCHE NOTES:
FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE
Date Time (MT) Location TV / Result Radio
Tuesday, April 18 8 p.m. Seattle at Colorado L, 1-3
Thursday, April 20 7:30 p.m. Seattle at Colorado W, 3-2
Saturday, April 22 8 p.m. Colorado at Seattle W, 6-4
Monday, April 24 8 p.m. Colorado at Seattle L, 2-3 OT
Wednesday, April 26 7:30 p.m. Seattle at Colorado L, 2-3
Friday, April 28 7 p.m. Colorado at Seattle Altitude, TNT, SN, TVA Sports 92.5 FM
*Sunday, April 30 TBD Seattle at Colorado TBD
TONIGHT’S GAME
GAME 6 – FIRST ROUND SERIES
COLORADO AVALANCHE vs. SEATTLE KRAKEN
8:20 p.m. MDT / 7:20 p.m. PDT
Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Altitude, TNT, SN, TVA Sports / 92.5 FM
The Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken face off for Game 6 of the 2023 Stanley Cup First Round series tonight at Climate Pledge Arena … The Avs trail the Kraken 3-2 and look to avoid elimination tonight and force a Game 7 on Sunday in Denver … The Avalanche are the Central Division champions while Seattle enters its first postseason as the top wild card in the Western Conference … The Avs are the defending Stanley Cup champions as they earned their third championship last spring … This is the first-ever playoff matchup between Colorado and Seattle.
ON THE CALL
TNT: Alex Faust (play-by-play), Ed Olczyk (analyst), Shane Hindy (analyst)
Altitude: Marc Moser (play-by-play), Mark Rycroft (analyst), Katie Gaus (reporter)
Altitude Radio: Conor McGahey
GAME 5 RECAP – SEATTLE 3, COLORADO 2
The Seattle Kraken defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven first round series … Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, and Evan Rodrigues also scored for Colorado … Tye Kartye scored in his NHL debut for Seattle and Morgan Geekie and Yanni Gourde also lit the lamp for the Kraken.
SF: 28 SA: 29 PP: 0-2 PK: 2-2 FO: 34-23 (60%) Hits: 41-39 Blocks: 20-14
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT – SEATTLE KRAKEN
This marks the first-ever playoff meeting between the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken … That leaves Winnipeg as the only Western Conference team who has never faced the Avalanche in the postseason … The Avs finished 1-1-1 against the Kraken during the 2022-23 regular season, with all three matchups decided by one goal (two went to overtime) … The Avs finished 2-1-0 against Seattle during the Kraken’s inaugural season in 2021-22 … This is the fifth all-time playoff series between an NHL franchise making their postseason debut and a reigning champion, following the 2009 Conference Quarterfinals (CBJ vs. DET), 1983 Division Semifinals (WSH vs. NYI), 1980 Preliminary Round (HFD vs. MTL) and 1929 Quarterfinals (NYA vs. NYR).
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. KRAKEN
Oct. 21 vs. SEATTLE (L, 2-3)
Jan. 21 @ Seattle (W, 2-1 SO)
Mar. 5 vs. SEATTLE (O, 2-3)
RECORD vs. KRAKEN
THIS SEASON 2021-22 ALL-TIME PLAYOFFS
Overall: 1-1-1 Overall: 2-1-0 Overall: 3-2-1 Series: 1
Home: 0-1-1 Home: 1-0-0 Home: 1-1-1 W-L record: 2-2
Road: 1-0-0 Road: 1-1-0 Road: 2-1-0
AVALANCHE & KRAKEN CONNECTIONS
Andre Burakovsky played three seasons with the Avalanche (2019-22) and helped Colorado win the 2022 Stanley Cup … Philipp Grubauer spent three seasons with Colorado (2018-21) where he is the all-time franchise leader in career save percentage (.918) … Joonas Donskoi played two years with the Avs (2019-21) … Kurtis MacDermid was selected by Seattle in the Expansion Draft before being traded to Colorado.
GAME 4 RECAP – SEATTLE 3, COLORADO 2 (OVERTIME)
Jordan Eberle scored three minutes into overtime to give the Seattle Kraken a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche and a 2-2 tie in the best-of-seven first round playoff series … Mikko Rantanen lit the lamp twice for the Avalanche and Alexandar Georgiev made 40 saves.
SF: 22 SA: 43 PP: 1-3 PK: 3-5 FO: 29-37 (44%) Hits: 37-52 Blocks: 18-26
GAME 3 RECAP – COLORADO 6, SEATTLE 4
Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each scored twice to lead the Avalanche to a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken in Game 3 of the first round series at Climate Pledge Arena … Rantanen also had an assist and Cale Makar added a goal and one helper … J.T. Compher tallied a shorthanded goal and Artturi Lehkonen and Devon Toews notched two assists apiece.
SF: 34 SA: 29 PP: 0-3 PK: 5-6 FO: 58% (34-25) Hits: 31-38 Blocks: 10-19
GAME 2 RECAP – COLORADO 3, SEATTLE 2
Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin scored 48 seconds apart in the second period to erase an 0-2 deficit, and Devon Toews tallied the go-ahead score in the third period to give the Avalanche a 3-2 victory over the Kraken in Game 2 at Ball Arena … Toews and Lehkonen also had assists for the Avs, who out-shot Seattle 41-29, including a 15-6 margin in the third period … Alexandar Georgiev made 27 saves to pick up his first career playoff win.
SF: 41 SA: 29 PP: 0-2 PK: 2-2 FO: 55% (32-26) Hits: 50-40 Blocks: 20-10
GAME 1 RECAP – SEATTLE 3, COLORADO 1
The Seattle Kraken scored within the first five minutes of all three periods and Philipp Grubauer made 34 saves to lead Seattle to a 3-1 victory over the Avalanche in the Kraken’s first-ever playoff game … Alex Wennberg had a goal and one assist and Eeli Tolvanen and Morgan Geekie also scored for Seattle … Mikko Rantanen had the lone tally for Colorado and Alexandar Georgiev made 27 saves in his first career postseason start.
SF: 35 SA: 30 PP: 0-2 PK: 3-3 FO: 56% (31-24) Hits: 29-40 Blocks: 19-23
PLAYOFF NOTES
DOWN 3-2, AVS LOOK TO FORCE GAME 7
This marks the 11th time since moving to Denver that the Avs have faced a 3-2 series deficit …. Colorado has forced a Game 7 in five of those previous 10 series and has gone on to win two of those series, the 2001 Stanley Cup Final against New Jersey and 2002 Western Conference Semifinal versus San Jose.
CENTURY SEEKING
Nathan MacKinnon has 99 points (44g/55a) in 75 career playoff games and with a goal or assist tonight will become the sixth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 100 playoff points … Nate would also join Joe Sakic (188) and Peter Forsberg (159) as the only players in franchise history to tally 100 postseason points.
FASTEST TO 100 CAREER PLAYOFF POINTS
46 games………… Wayne Gretzky
50 games………… Mario Lemieux
67 games………… Jari Kurri
74 games………… Mike Bossy
75 games………… Sidney Crosby
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
After setting an Avalanche record with 55 goals during the regular season, Mikko Rantanen has a team-high five goals in five games this postseason … He is just the third Avalanche/Nordiques player (fourth time) to tally 60 combined regular season and playoff goals in one campaign, joining Joe Sakic (69 in 1995-96 and 67 in 2000-01) and Michel Goulet (66 in 1984-85).
ROAD WARRIORS
Going back to the regular season, Colorado is 12-1-0 in its last 13 road games, 16-2-0 in its last 18 and 19-3-1 in its last 22 away from home … The Avalanche saw their streak of 12 consecutive road wins come to an end on Monday night in Seattle … That 12-game streak matched the NHL record for consecutive road victories set by the 2005-06 Red Wings and 2014-15 Wild … Both of those teams’ streaks were all within the regular season … The Avs finished the 2022-23 regular season with a franchise-record 11-game road winning streak en route to posting their most road wins (29) and points (59) in a single campaign … The Avs ended the regular season going 15-1-0 in their last 16 away contests and 18-2-1 in their last 21 … Only Boston (31) won more road games in 2022-23 … The Avalanche finished a league-best 9-1 on the road during the 2022 postseason, tied for the fewest road losses by a Stanley Cup champion since 1987 (the 2012 Kings and 1995 Devils were both 10-1).
CLIMBING THE FRANCHISE CHARTS
Nathan MacKinnon is one point shy of joining Joe Sakic (188) and Peter Forsberg (159) as the only players in franchise history to tally 100 postseason points …. Mikko Rantanen (56 career playoff assists) and MacKinnon (55 assists) sit just behind Peter Stastny (57) for third place on the franchise playoff assist list … With a pair of goals on Monday, Rantanen passed Peter Stastny (81) for fourth place on the franchise’s all-time playoff points list with 83 (now 84) … Mikko’s two goals allowed him to jump Chris Drury (26) and Gabriel Landeskog (27) for sixth place on the franchise playoff goals list with 28 …. Cale Makar needs one assist to pass Sandis Ozolinsh (47) for the most postseason helpers by a defenseman in franchise history and is just two points behind Ozolinsh (65) for the most points … Makar is tied with Rob Blake for the second most goals by an Avalanche/Nordiques defenseman behind Ozolinsh (18) … J.T. Compher notched his second career playoff shorthanded goal in Game 3 on Saturday, tied for the second most SHG in franchise postseason history (Sakic 4).
DOWN BUT NEVER OUT
Colorado has trailed in all five games of this series and come back to win two of them, which included rallying from an 0-2 deficit in Game 2 … The Avalanche tied an NHL record with 10 comeback wins last postseason but only one of those was a multi-goal rally, Game 4 of the Western Conference Final in Edmonton … In fact, the Game 2 victory against Seattle marked just the sixth multi-goal comeback in Avalanche playoff history … The Avs had four third-period comebacks last postseason and trailed in all four of their series-clinching victories, the first team in NHL history to do so … Colorado’s 10 comeback wins last spring tied the 2009 Penguins for the most in NHL history.
PLAYOFF BOUND
The Avalanche are in the postseason for the sixth consecutive year, tied for the third-longest active streak in the NHL … The Avs are appearing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 19th time since relocating to Denver and 28th time in franchise history.
ACTIVE STREAKS MAKING THE PLAYOFFS
7 Boston since 2016-17
7 Toronto since 2016-17
6 Colorado since 2017-18
6 Tampa Bay since 2017-18
FIRST ROUND SUCCESS
Colorado is 18-4 in its last 22 first-round games going back to 2019 … The Game 1 loss to Seattle ended a streak of 10 consecutive victories in the first round … The Avs swept their first round series in each of the last two postseasons.
SEATTLE KRAKEN NOTES:
LAST GAME
SEATTLE 3 AT COLORADO 2
GOALS: Geekie, Kartye, Gourde
GOALIE: Grubauer (26/28)
PP: 0/2 PK: 2/2 SHOTS: SEA 28 – COL 28
CURRENT INJURIES (MAN GAMES LOST: 16)
JOONAS DONSKOI (upper body; IR) | 5 games | no timeline for return
ANDRE BURAKOVSKY (lower body; IR) | 5 games | week-to-week
JOHN HAYDEN (lower body; IR) | 5 games | week-to-week
JARED McCANN (undisclosed) | 1 game | day-to-day
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1 – April 18, 2023: Seattle Kraken at Colorado Avalanche, 3-1 SEA win
Game 2 – April 20, 2023: Seattle Kraken at Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 COL win
Game 3 – April 22, 2023: Colorado Avalanche at Seattle Kraken, 6-4 COL win
Game 4 – April 24, 2023: Colorado Avalanche at Seattle Kraken, 3-2 SEA win (OT)
Game 5 – April 26, 2023: Seattle Kraken at Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 SEA win
Game 6 – April 28, 2023: Colorado Avalanche at Seattle Kraken, 7 p.m. PT
Game 7 – April 30, 2023: Seattle Kraken at Colorado Avalanche*
*if necessary
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Tonight’s matchup is the third and final game that will be played at Climate Pledge Arena during the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
• Among players that have played in at least four games this postseason, Morgan Geekie ranked fifth in the NHL entering play Thursday with a 65.2 percent on-ice Corsi rating according to Natural Stat Trick.
• Both Eeli Tolvanen and Brandon Tanev ranked in the top 10 in the NHL in postseason hits entering play Thursday. Tolvanen’s 25 hits were tied for third and Tanev’s 23 hits were tied for eighth.
• Jaden Schwartz recorded 11 shots on goal in Game 4, which is the most by a player in a single game this postseason. Entering play Tuesday, no other player had recorded more than eight shots on goal in a single game during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
• Matty Beniers scored the first Stanley Cup Playoff goal of his career in Game 3 of this series. Entering play Tuesday, Beniers was the only rookie to score a goal this postseason and one of only five first-year players to record a point.
• Among goaltenders that have played in each of their team’s first four playoff games, Philipp Grubauer second and third, respectively, with a 0.918 save percentage and a 2.61 goals-against average entering play Thursday..
— Grubauer’s Game 4 win was the 21st Stanley Cup Playoff win of his career, making him the winningest German-born goaltender in Stanley
Cup Playoff history
WHAT’S AT STAKE
• The Kraken enter tonight’s game with several milestones and records on the line.
• A win tonight would give the Kraken their first playoff series win in franchise history. It would also make them the 10th expansion team to win their first-ever playoff series according to NHL Stats.
• A win would also make the Kraken the first team to defeat the defending Stanley Cup Champions in the first round since the Vancouver Canucks took down the St. Louis Blues in six games in 2020.
• The Kraken could also become the first expansion team to defeat the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in their first-ever playoff series according to NHL Stats. Four other expansion teams have faced off against the defending champions in their first-ever playoff series, but none have been victorious.
• If the Kraken were to win tonight, they would hand Colorado their first, first-round exit since the Avalanche lost in six games to the Nashville Predators in 2018.
