Kraken make NHL history with stunning Game 7 victory over Avalanche to advance to second round
When the Seattle Kraken defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in game seven on Sunday night, they ended their first-round series and cemented their place in playoff history. This nerve-wracking win was proof of the Kraken's tenacity and determination. The Kraken became the first team in NHL history to pull off such a feat by defeating the reigning Stanley Cup champions in their first-ever postseason series. This accomplishment is even more remarkable in light of the fact that earlier this season, the Kraken set a league record for the largest standings turnaround by a second-year team. Their 46-28-8 regular-season record, which earned them 100 points in the standings, represented a 40-point gain over their inaugural 2021–22 season. This accomplishment cemented the Kraken's place in NHL history, surpassing the previous mark for second-year turnarounds held by the New York Islanders in 1973–74 and the Boston Bruins in 1925–26.
Oliver Bjorkstrand of the Kraken scored a second-period wrist shot to give his team a two-goal lead after being outplayed for the majority of the game, giving the second-year franchise's fans hope for the improbable. The Avalanche made a ferocious comeback attempt, but the Kraken and goaltender Philipp Grubauer held on for a thrilling victory.
Seattle sports fans have been enthralled by the Kraken's postseason run after they won three of the series' road games at Ball Arena. They defeated the Avalanche twice out of three times during the regular season.
Few analysts gave the Kraken a chance to beat an Avalanche team that lost only three times in regulation in the final five weeks of the season, despite the fact that the team had a 100-point regular season, a 40-point improvement over the previous expansion campaign. The Kraken's success in an emotional, hard-fought series with side stories on and off the ice depended on Bjorkstrand and Grubauer's best performances while wearing the Kraken uniform.
Just over three minutes into the second period, Bjorkstrand broke the scoreless tie by shoving the puck out of the corner and off the glove of Avalanche forward Ben Meyers before it went into the goal. The Kraken started the scoring for the seventh game in a row in the series. A little over seven minutes had elapsed in the second frame when Bjorkstrand scored his second goal, which was more typical of him. He quickly intercepted a pass from Yanni Gourde and raced down the left wing before releasing a wrist shot just past Georgiev's extended glove.
With just 27.3 seconds left in the middle period, Mikko Rantanen scored his sixth goal of the series by deflecting a Nathan MacKinnon power-play slapshot into the net to help Colorado come back and cut the Kraken's lead in half. Three minutes into the third, Colorado appeared to equalize the score on another MacKinnon slap shot, but the Kraken successfully challenged that the prior zone entry had been offside. The goal was disallowed, and the Kraken regained the lead.
With 16 attempts on goal from the Avalanche stopped in the first period, Grubauer was superb. In the first frame, the Kraken was outshot 16-6; without Grubauer, the series would have likely been over in just 20 minutes. Even when he didn't see the puck, Grubauer was nothing short of phenomenal, making save after save. After the overturned Avalanche goal, the third period continued, and Bjorkstrand came close to completing a natural hat trick by scoring three goals in a row with a wrist shot that rebounded against the crossbar. With another clear shot from the slot that rang off the post, he then came dangerously close to completing his hat trick once more.
The finest Colorado opportunity came in the final seconds of the game when Logan O'Connor fired a shot toward an open left side of the net, but Jamie Oleksiak quickly moved in front of it to block it. In the final two minutes, Colorado substituted an additional attacker for goalie Alexandar Georgiev, but Grubauer remained strong.
The Kraken will move on to a second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars, thanks to their historic playoff triumph. Dallas' first game is scheduled to begin on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. PT.
The Kraken proved their value despite being the underdogs in the series by winning the last of the seven games. The Kraken have gained momentum and confidence going into the second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars thanks to players like Oliver Bjorkstrand and Philipp Grubauer's outstanding performances. Seattle sports fans are pleased about the Krakens' accomplishments and cannot wait to see what they will do next. Will the Kraken reach the Stanley Cup Finals and continue to astound the NHL? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the Seattle Kraken are a force to be reckoned with in the NHL playoffs.