SEATTLE — Turquoise towels were draped over the seats eight hours before puck drop in a city buzzing for the occasion. The party favors will be mementos in Pacific Northwest homes for years to come. Their inscription, along with a Stanley Cup Playoffs logo: “The legend awakens.”
But in the Seattle Kraken’s first-ever home playoff game, the Avalanche’s sleeping giants awakened instead.
Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen combined for five goals in a 6-4 series-tilting win for the Avs on Saturday night. Colorado leads the first-round playoff series 2-1, with Game 4 back at Climate Pledge Arena here Monday.
The Avs’ big three combined for just one goal in the first two games of the playoffs, a split in Denver. MacKinnon scored his first two goals of the series on the road, including a magnificent insurance snipe in the third period. Rantanen netted the go-ahead goal with 16:59 remaining in the third after Seattle erased a 3-1 deficit in 19 seconds in the second frame.
“We’re very fortunate to have those guys,” Andrew Cogliano said.
On a day when the first three playoff games required overtime, the Avs wanted none of that nonsense. In five of the last six games when they’ve held a two-goal lead before the third period, that lead has disappeared. Yet they have found ways to prevail in all five of those games, including three of them in regulation. Colorado has won 12 in a row on the road.
“It was never that comfortable until late in the game, but yeah, I thought we really played really well the whole game,” MacKinnon said. “We had a tough 20 seconds there where they tied it up, but no panic in our room. I think that comes with experience. We know this process isn’t easy. It’s a hard road. Can’t get too emotional and attached to things, so after the second, we regrouped.”
Rantanen’s big frame cleared a path through the middle of the ice, and The Moose powered a Devon Toews centering pass past Philipp Grubauer, who showed signs of weakness in Seattle’s net for the first time this series. That made it 4-3. A minute and 28 seconds later, MacKinnon capped a clinical shift by absorbing Ryan Donato’s contact and breaking his ankles with dynamic stick-handling.
The explosiveness of Colorado’s star center was already on display in the first period. MacKinnon torpedoed into the neutral zone for a loose puck and scored on the ensuing breakaway with 44 seconds left in the first period, giving the Avs a 2-1 lead after a slow start.
Seattle has struck first in all three games, but the Avalanche’s penalty kill has been a source of momentum when the bench has needed it most. They held Seattle to 0 for 5 with a man advantage in Game 3 until the final minute and equalized during a PK in the first. Makar was carrying the puck toward the blue line, just zapping time, when Kraken forward Daniel Sprong blew a tire. Suddenly J.T. Compher was available for a feed into the offensive zone. Colorado’s second-line center, playing and killing penalties without a missing Valeri Nichushkin (personal reasons), deked Grubauer with a forehand-backhand move for a 1-1 tie.
While both teams have struggled to score on the power play, both have scored short-handed.
But against an underdog reliant on its depth, the might of Colorado’s superstars was the difference-maker for the first time this series. Makar blasted a one-timer off a clean faceoff win for Alex Newhook. MacKinnon was a threat every time he touched the puck. Rantanen, who hasn’t played his cleanest so far this postseason, reminded Seattle of his unparalleled ability to make up for any mistakes with his elite scoring ability.
“We got better as the game went on, certainly,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “… It was a pretty well-played hockey game by us. I thought we had some good chances.”
Footnote: Cogliano (shoulder) returned to the lineup after missing Games 1 and 2, but Darren Helm was a scratch after playing the previous game. The Avs filled Nichushkin’s void in the top six with Matt Nieto at left wing.
