Let's get Kraken: Colorado Avalanche excited to start series

Despite a regular season full of injuries and uncertainty, the Colorado Avalanche are starting fresh in the postseason and they're excited about it.

DENVER – Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is finally here and the Colorado Avalanche are, as Bowen Byram said, "jacked up and ready to go."

The Avs played the Seattle Kraken three times this season, one on the front of a back-to-back and the other two on the second game of a back-to-back. There was a one-goal differential in each game and there was only one regulation decision.

The Kraken beat the Avalanche 3-2 without any extra time on Oct. 21 and outshot them 38-20. Colorado had twice as many penalties (6) as the Kraken (3) but Byram scored a short-handed goal in that contest. Former Avalanche goaltender Philip Grubauer played the majority of the game until he was injured, and Martin Jones finished the last nine-plus minutes of the game.

“I think the physicality and checking game both teams really defend hard, there’s not a lot of room out there. Especially Seattle, they’re a good defensive team, if you look at the numbers, so just less room, and that makes it a little bit tougher to play offense, but you’ve got to find a way,” Mikko Rantanen said. “You’ve got to not get frustrated, stay engaged all the time. It’s going to come eventually, a chance or two, so you’ve just got to be ready for those.”

The second matchup on Jan. 21 between the teams was decided by a shootout that Nathan MacKinnon won 2-1 for the Avalanche. Each team had two power-plays in the game, with Grubauer in net for Seattle and Pavel Francouz for Colorado. Both teams were even with 27 shots on goal.

“This is a deep team. Second in the Western Conference in goals. Their defensive metrics are all near the top of the league, so they’re hard to create offense against and they create a lot of offense on their own,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “And that’s throughout their lineup and with their D included.”

Seattle clearly plays a disciplined, tight game but Colorado brings its own identity to games like those. MacKinnon demonstrated how he can just take over in the final game of the season.

“He’s a competitor. That’s what it is. Deep down, that’s what it is … he just wasn’t going to be denied,” Bednar said about MacKinnon’s play in the 4-3 win in Nashville. “That’s why he’s so good when the games get big because that’s the type of competitor he is.”

The Avalanche lost to the Stars in Dallas the night before they played the Kraken back at Ball Arena on March 5. Once again, the Kraken outshot the Avalanche 35-23 with Grubauer defending the net for Seattle. While the Avalanche had three more penalties than the Kraken, there were no power-play or short-handed goals in the contest.

It seems the key to getting past the Kraken is to play smart and hard. With the depth both teams have, it’s going to come down to who plays harder.

“Maybe we don’t have the same firepower offensively that we did last year, so we got to adjust our game a little bit and play with high confidence,” Rantanen said. “But we know we got to defend if we want to win games in the playoffs. We got to really check, check hard. We’ve been talking about it for the second half of the year, almost every meeting, so it should come automatically now.”

Bednar recognized it's not the same team as last year and that each player on this squad has their own role and identity and has still found a way to be successful.

"The challenge is that their bottom six score a lot. So it's going to be us playing to our strengths, and they're going to play to theirs, so we have to see how the matchups go," Bednar said. "But it's important, you're trying to win every matchup throughout your lineup, so it's going to be a big test."

The postseason is exciting for fans, no doubt, but it’s the same for the players. The playoffs are special and even after playing 82 games and the injuries this team’s endured this season, it’s a new day.

“It’s the best time of the year, it’s fun, it’s what we work all year for,” Jack Johnson said after Tuesday morning’s skate. “So much fun last year, that we’re doing everything we can to make it happen again.”

Johnson said he knows this first round will be tough and that there are no easy games in the playoffs, but he’s excited to get going. And he’s not alone. Byram said it’s going to be a challenge, but the team is confident and that’s extremely important to win games.

“Playoffs are the best time of the year. You come to the rink and the sun’s shining and it’s nice outside,” Byram said about how excited he is for the postseason. “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. You know especially with this group. I think we got a good shot to have another good run again.”