Kraken squander two goal lead, fall to Avalanche 4-3 for sixth-straight loss

DENVER – Nazem Kadri scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period, and the surging Colorado Avalanche rallied to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Monday night.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel had two goals and Devon Toews also scored for Colorado, which beat former goalie Philipp Grubauer to win its 12th straight at home and fifth in a row overall.

Grubauer, who had 31 saves, played the previous three seasons with the Avalanche. He received a warm reception from the crowd when he was first shown on the scoreboard. He was 30-9-1 in 40 games with Colorado last season but was a casualty of the salary cap, became a free agent in the summer and signed a six-year, $35.4 million deal with Seattle.

Marcus Johansson, Jared McCann and Colin Backwell had goals to put Seattle ahead 3-1 in the second period. Aube-Kubel’s second goal of the game made it 3-2 and Toews tied it when the puck deflected off his right skate and in at 11:47 of the third. The goal was upheld upon review.

McCann and Johansson also had assists.

Kadri got the winner when he beat Grubauer high at 14:17 of the third for his 13th goal of the season. Kadri also had an assist.

Grubauer came off for an extra skater but the Kraken couldn’t get the equalizer against Pavel Francouz, who finished with 23 saves.

Avalanche captain and top-line forward Gabriel Landeskog tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and was placed in health and safety protocols. Andre Burakovsky moved up to the top line and finished with two assists.