The Seattle Kraken made franchise history on Tuesday night. They not only played in their first ever National Hockey League postseason game, but they were victorious too. At the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, the Kraken upset the Colorado Avalanche 3-1.
How did the Kraken score three times?
The Kraken got their first ever Stanley Cup Playoff goal from Eeli Tolvanen of Vihti, Finland. Tolvanen scored directly from a Devon Toews giveaway to give Seattle the early 1-0 lead at the 3:26 mark of the opening frame. After the Avalanche tied the game at one on a goal from Mikko Rantanen, the Kraken got a game-winning goal from center Alexander Wennberg of Stockholm, Sweden at 1:20 of the middle frame from center Jaden Schwartz of Wilcox, Saskatchewan, and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak of Toronto, Ontario to put Seattle up 2-1. The Kraken then had an insurance goal from center Morgan Geekie of Strathclair, Manitoba at 4:03 of the third period. Geekie scored from defenseman Justin Schultz of Kelowna, British Columbia and Wennberg.
Significant Stanley Cup Playoff Experience
Even though Seattle does not have much playoff experience as a franchise, the Kraken have a significant group of players who have won the Stanley Cup. In fact, seven players have won hockey’s biggest prize. They are left winger Andre Burakovsky of Malmo, Sweden (2022 with the Colorado Avalanche), defenseman Vince Dunn of Mississauga, Ontario (2019 with the St. Louis Blues), goaltender Philipp Grubauer of Rosenheim, Germany (2018 with the Washington Capitals), center Yanni Gourde of Saint-Narcisse, Quebec (2020 and 2021 with the Tampa Bay Lightning), goaltender Martin Jones of North Vancouver, British Columbia (2014 with the Los Angeles Kings), Schultz (2016 and 2017 with the Pittsburgh Penguins), and Schwartz (2019 with the St. Louis Blues).
Still an Upset
Anyway you look at it the Seattle win over Colorado was an upset. The Avalanche were the number two seed in the West, while the Kraken were seeded seventh. Colorado had nine more points than Seattle in the regular season and are the defending Stanley Cup champions.
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