Something In The Way- Seattle Kraken Lose Game 2

The Seattle Kraken dropped Game 2 last night to the tune of 3-2. Colorado tied the series up, heading back to Seattle. The Kraken now have the advantage after leaving Denver with a win. The goal really should have been to head home with a split, and they did. The Kraken should be feeling good.

Last night’s game was a tale of two different games. In what started off looking like a repeat of Game 1, the Kraken entered the first intermission up 2-0. Colorado made the necessary coaching changes and came back with a vengeance.

After Colorado’s first goal, the crowd was back in the game and less than a minute later the game was tied. Phillipp Grubauer played magnificent making big save after big save. Devon Toews scored a lucky goal (lucky in how open he was and how long he had the puck) and it was pretty much over after that.

The Kraken didn’t play a bad game, Colorado just played better. The Colorado fans gave the Avs true home ice advantage. Ball Arena was rocking.

That’s playoff hockey.

The Kraken should feel confident knowing that they have outplayed the Avalanche 4 out of the 6 periods of playoff hockey. They have been the better team in this series, and have the better goalie. Moving forward and preparing for Game 3, the Kraken now have home ice advantage and will look to continue to press the Avs.

The Avalanche have the best coaching staff in the NHL. Hands down. The Adjustments that they made after the first period were clear and they found a way to stop the Kraken in their tracks. So what should we expect in Game 3? It is clear that Colorado will look to start fast. Nathan MacKinnon entering the zone at full speed is scary. You can see how much better he is than every other player on the ice.

The other players are all professional hockey players. The dude is incredible. Cale Makar, Devon Toews and Bowen Byram are going to be featured a lot. They should be active in the attack and will eat up a lot of ice time. The Kraken are at their best when they can use their speed to create scoring chances and bang home garbage goals. The Avs will no doubt be looking to clean up the rebounds as well as the crease.

For our Kraken, the coaching staff will no doubt be looking for ways to score more goals. The Kraken led the NHL in even strength goals with 202. They can hang with any team in the league 5-on-5. I do not see head coach Dave Hakstol really messing with the lines, but maybe the matchups.

The Seattle top lines have matched up well with Colorado’s, but the 3rd and 4th lines will be a key factor in Game 3. Expect Daniel Sprong, Yanni Gourde, and Eeli Tolvanen to play a huge part in the game.

Tomorrow night should be electric in the emerald city.

Fear the deep!