Tonight, Tonight- Seattle Kraken Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 7

“In the resolute urgency of now, and if you believe there’s not a chance, tonight, tonight”  A little Smashing Pumpkins reference. Sorry I couldn’t resist myself, the drama of this series has gotten to me. Tonight is Game 7. The Seattle Kraken and Colorado Avalanche faceoff one final time. The series is tied 3-3 and everything is at stake.

It ends tonight.

This series has been full of surprises, excitement, and plenty of drama. A series in which the Kraken were expected by many to not really have a chance, has gone the full series length. The Kraken for the most part, have out played the Avalanche.

The series has sparked what could become the newest rivalry in the NHL.  Cheap shots (Makar on Jared McCann, and Eberle on Cogliano), and the Grubauer-Colorado connection have fueled the flames as both teams will lay everything on the line tonight.

The pressure is on Colorado, who play in front of their home crowd and are looking to defend last year’s Stanley Cup championship. The Kraken are looking to extend the first postseason in franchise history.

Kraken fans believe that there is not a chance they lose tonight. Not the way they have dominated this series.

This series shows how important (super)star power and goaltending is in the NHL playoffs. Look back at the past 30 Stanley Cup champion teams and find one that did not have at least 1 superstar player, and a top goalie.

I’ll wait.

The Avs have virtually zero depth, but feature three of the very best players on the planet. The Kraken have the best depth in the NHL, but lack a real superstar. The result- Game 7.

So who has the edge tonight? Colorado who has the winning pedigree should not be worried as they have shined on brighter stages than a first round Game 7 appearance. Will this play to their advantage or will this be their downfall (not taking the Kraken serious)?

The Kraken, who are still in their infancy stage, are playing the biggest game in team history. Will the lights be too bright for them? Or will the team relish the opportunity as an underdog and take it to the Avs?

The Kraken win if…

goalie Phillipp Grubauer plays the best game of his career. He needs to be 100% lights out. The Avalanche are going to throw everything (including the kitchen sink) at him. The Kraken need him to play the best game of his life. Their playoff lives depend on it. He has been spectacular this postseason. Beat your former team, tonight.

Jordan Eberle scores 2 goals. The Avs and their fans will surely boo him each time he touches the puck after hurting Cogliano. They will piss and moan even more if the Kraken win because of Eberle. He has been a staple in this lineup and the team needs his best game, tonight.

the team’s depth can shutdown the Avs big three. We have the horses in this race. Yanni Gourde, Bradon Tanev, Jamie Oleksiak, and Carson Soucy all have the ability to get under the skin of the Colorado stars. They have to not only control the tempo of this game, but at least one of them need to contribute to the scoring.

the team can control the time of possession. This all starts with faceoff wins, which we have been horrible at in this series. We need to win the faceoff circle. Keep the puck out of the hands of Colorado. At all costs.

we win the grit zone. For my newer hockey fans, the grit zone is that 5-foot perimeter from the boards out, around the entire rink. This is where majority of hockey games are played, and where majority of the puck battles take place.

we play our game. Seattle have the best forecheck in the NHL. Let’s outskate these jerks and keep them on their heels. This is what we do. Skate our guts out and score some nasty goals. Tonight we have to stay true to our identity.

The Avalanche win if…

the superstars Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen dominate. If all three of these guys get on the scoreboard it will be too much for the Kraken to survive. Winning in 7 against Colorado is damn near impossible, especially if these guys are on fire. They need to be shut down.

goalie Alexandar Georgiev keeps the Kraken to 2 or fewer goals. I said this last game, I am saying it again. The Kraken need to score at least 3 goals to win this game. This is the last time we will hear this goofy surname, Let’s light him up and set our sights in obsessing over Jake Oettinger and the fun things we can say about him.

they have that ‘Cup swagger’. Being Cup champs means this team knows what it takes to get it done. Teams who know this secret play like it. And teams that play like it, have that swagger. That swagger is intimidating. It’s one game, winner takes all. If the Kraken do not look at this as just one game, it could be too big a stage for them and the Avs will role. Do not allow ourselves to be hypnotized by the Avs’ swagger.

I put a lot of must do’s in order for the Kraken to win. It is going to be a daunting task to beat Colorado tonight, and the Kraken will need to play the best game in franchise history, tonight.

The puck drops at 6:40pm PT tonight, from Denver. Let’s go boys!! RELEASE THE KRAKEN!

Fear the deep!