After a historic season, the Seattle Kraken opened their playoff journey by defeating the Colorado Avalanche on April 18 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven first round series. The game was full of energy, punctuated by an early goal to put the Kraken up early.
This game was full of storylines, especially given the historical significance of the win. Here are three takeaways from the Kraken’s 3-1 win over the Avalanche.
3. History Made
With Eeli Tolvanen’s first-period marker, the Kraken successfully scored their first-ever postseason goal. This has been a moment two years in the making, and after a 40-point increase from 2021-22 to 2022-23, they’ve officially arrived in the playoffs.
Now that they’ve arrived, they can also settle into the fact that they’ve recorded the first playoff victory in franchise history. It’s a series of firsts that they can now move past and focus on the remainder of the series, which they now hold a 1-0 lead in. They came in as the underdog and now hold an early advantage, but they’ll have to face continuous adversity if they’re to come out of this series.
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It’s no small feat to go from a lottery team that finished 30th to leading a series against the defending Stanley Cup champions. That said, the Kraken have defied the odds all season and don’t seem satisfied with anything other than proving they’re among the best. The team, fans, and city of Seattle all appear ready to embrace the underdog role and run with it.
2. Depth Scoring Rules Supreme
Despite having no scoring from their top line, the Kraken prevailed using a formula that has worked nearly all season long. Their depth scoring is among the best in the league, and while the top line needs to produce, it helps that the second and third lines filled in the gaps in Game 1.
Tolvanen, Alexander Wennberg, and Morgan Geekie gave the Kraken the offense they needed to snag Game 1. Not only that, but every point registered on the goals came from either their middle-six forwards or bottom-four defensemen. There isn’t a reasonable way to line-match a team that has as much scoring as the Avalanche, and while it can’t be expected that the second, third, and even fourth lines will carry the offense, they can certainly hold their own.
All three goal scorers have playoff experience, and perhaps that helped them settle into the intense atmosphere they faced in Game 1. There is a wealth of playoff experience on the roster, which makes it easier to overcome the stress and pressure that accompanies the games. The Kraken, for the most part, looked as if they’ve all done this dance many times before, and that is a good sign moving forward.
1. Grubauer Stands Tall
When the Avalanche aimed their onslaught at the Kraken net, Philipp Grubauer was there to keep them up in the game. Having been under intense scrutiny for the bulk of his Kraken tenure, he was able to step in and backstop the team to their first-ever playoff win.
While the shots on goal remained relatively close throughout the first two periods, the third period shifted in favor of the Avalanche. Outshooting the Kraken 14-5, the Avalanche were firing on all cylinders trying to claw their way back into the game. In their way was Grubauer, facing several shots from high-danger areas and turning them away with ease.
According to MoneyPuck, Grubauer faced 3.727 expected goals in the game and only allowed one. That has him at 2.73 goals saved above expected (GSAx) after one game. To put that number in perspective, his GSAx in the regular season was minus-0.7. If he can continue to perform to the level we saw in Game 1, the Kraken will have a significant boost in their chances to knock off the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round.
The Kraken now hold the advantage and will look to extend their lead in Game 2, which is scheduled for April 20. The firsts are out of the way and all that’s left is the series in front of them. They can continue to write their names in the history books, but only if they can muster up the same effort they put forth in the series opener.
