On Tuesday, December 16, the Seattle Kraken hosted the Colorado Avalanche for their first game of the season. It was a quick back-and-forth game, but the Avalanche were the stronger team. recorded a 5-3 victory.
Summary of the game
Midway through the first period, the Avalanche gained control of the puck in the Kraken zone and began skating it into theirs. Martin Necas received him at the blue line and skated him towards the center of the ice. He took a shot, which bounced off Artturi Lehkonen’s stick, marking the first goal of the match.
Early in the second inning, Kaapo Kakko grabbed the puck after a brilliant take-away. He skated it into the Kraken zone and passed it to Shane Wright. Mackenzie Blackwood made the first save, but Jani Nyman was in front and grabbed the rebound. Wright was there to make sure Nyman’s shot went into the net and the Kraken were on the board.
Just two minutes later, Jordan Eberle stole the Avalanche’s puck and skated it into the Kraken’s zone with Matty Beniers. He served a pass to Adam Larsson in front of the net, but his shot was saved by Blackwood. Eberle grabbed the rebound and gave the Kraken their first lead of the game with a backhand pass.
Mason Marchment sat down for cutting shortly after Eberle’s goal. 40 seconds into the extra-man advantage, Necas fired the puck into the net. The goal was immediately disallowed and the Kraken held on to their one-goal lead.
Five minutes after the goal was disqualified, Valeri Nichushkin made a pass to Samuel Girard on the blue line. He skated to the faceoff circle and shot a one-timer to even the score.
With a minute and a change left in the middle frame, Ross Colton took the seat to step in for Ryan Lindgren. Using the extra-man advantage, Chandler Stephenson scored a goal through Blackwood’s legs to put the Kraken ahead again.
Just two minutes into the final frame, Cale Makar sent a pass to Nathan MacKinnon in the faceoff circle. An immediate one-timer tied the game again.
With twelve minutes to play, the Kraken had a chance to score, but Josh Manson covered the puck. The Kraken were awarded a penalty shot, but Eberle’s shot went wide and missed the net.
After the penalty shot, Vince Dunn took his place because he tripped Gabriel Landesog. The Avalanche won the first matchup and MacKinnon hit a one-timer from the same spot as earlier. Philipp Grubauer made the save, but Brock Nelson sent the rebound past him to give Colorado the lead.
While the Kraken had an extra man on the ice after pulling the goaltender, the Avalanche knocked the puck out of Seattle’s zone. Nichushkin passed it to MacKinnon, who skated to the empty net. His shot went into the gaping cage and secured the Avalanche victory.
Next up
The Kraken will travel to take on the Calgary Flames on Thursday, December 18. The Avalanche will continue their road trip and take on the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, December 19.
The season series continues on March 12 in Seattle.
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