After a poorly executed Game 1 loss, the Colorado Avalanche continued that direction in the first period of Game 2. But then the team that fought hard in the second half of the season to make the playoffs showed up.
DENVER – Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said his team was going to be better in Game 2, and they were in a 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Thursday night.
The team needed to bring more physicality, engagement and mental focus. The first period was one of the worst 20 minutes the team has played all season, but something happened between periods that the Avalanche, fans know and love, came out in the middle frame.
“We got great leadership in there (the locker room), I trust those guys. Landy’s (Gabriel Landeskog) been in the room cause he’s been watching. I think it helps to have guys that, like with Landy, he’s not so emotionally invested in it and they trust him,” Bednar said. “You know he’s their captain, he carries a big voice. So I know he’s been in and out of there because sometimes you know, you need a voice that’s not like as engaged in it emotionally. He can take the emotion out of it and deliver a message, and guys can get it.”
Seattle defenseman Justin Schultz got the Kraken on the board at 2:40 into the first. While the Avalanche picked up their game physically, they struggled with puck control and communication on the ice.
The Kraken went up 2-0 with a short-handed goal by Brandon Tanev at 13:27 that took all the intensity out of the building and the Avalanche.
“No one’s putting more pressure on these guys than they are on themselves, that their teammates are. Regardless of what, where you think you should finish, or where you are at that point in the season, they want to win and they put a lot of hard work into winning,” Bednar said.
Different period, different Avalanche team
But a different team came back after the first intermission. It was a more familiar team that showed more grit and determination. A team that picked their heads up and found that confidence they played the last half of the season with and took off.
At 6:42 into the second, Artturi Lehkonen put one past Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer to put the Avalanche on the board. Less than a minute later, Valeri Nichushkin buried a backhand goal past Grubauer to tie the game.
“I thought he was outstanding tonight. That was old Val (Nichushkin) back. He didn’t have a good Game 1, he’s been fighting the puck a little bit here recently,” Bednar said. “For me with Val, it all revolves around his skating and him driving his legs and then he can be a force. Checking pucks back, keeping plays alive, creating chances for himself and his linemates, breaking up plays on the other side of it.”
With seven minutes left in the game, Devon Toews snagged a rebound and fired it past Grubauer to win the game. But the true game-winner was Alexandar Georgiev. With 27 saves, the 27-year-old netminder gave his team the chance to make the comeback it did and gain the victory.
[gallery ids="1650"]
“Georgie’s always, he’s been making incredible saves for us throughout the entire season, keeping us in games,” Cale Makar said after the win. “Every single game we could talk about him because he always makes big saves when we need it, always been a stud for us and hope he can continue that.”
How chemistry made the difference in the game
Bednar said his players spent some time together Wednesday and Thursday working on that connection and making that emotional and mental togetherness. Makar said the pressure the players put on each other can be overwhelming and sometimes they just need to take a step back to gain perspective.
“I mean guys get frustrated, we talk about it in the room, we go back out there and it’s a complete reset, wash it out of the brain, and you just move on,” Makar said.
That’s clearly what the Avs did after the first period.
“Sometimes you just need a little bit of a spark to light the tank,” Makar said. “That’s what we got from that first goal tonight.”
Colorado will face off against Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena for the Kraken’s first-ever home playoff game on Saturday night. There will certainly be a high level of energy against the Avalanche that they will have to overcome to keep the momentum of the win at Ball Arena going.