Kraken take it easy as they bask in playoff-opening win

DENVER – The Seattle Kraken stuck to the formula Wednesday and stayed off the ice, choosing to rest and recuperate the day after the franchise’s first playoff game. It was a 3-1 road victory against the Colorado Avalanche, who won the Central Division.

According to Hockey Reference, the Game 1 winner takes the series 68.3% of the time. Teams that go up 2-0 advance 86.4% of the time.

Kraken forward Alex Wennberg handed the Kraken a 2-1 lead early in the second period and they led the rest of the game. The Avalanche leaned heavily on their top two lines as they pushed for a tying goal. They Kraken did a solid job of keeping them out of dangerous areas, blocked a total of 23 shots, cleared rebounds quickly and kept the area in front of Philipp Grubauer (34 saves) relatively clear.

Alternate captain Jordan Eberle liked the style of the game the Kraken pushed onto the 2022 Stanley Cup champions.

“Next game, obviously, we’ve got to expect that their best is coming,” Eberle said. “They’re the defending Cup champions for a reason and we have to be prepared.

“The biggest thing for us is not to get too high. We know our opponent over there.”

Eberle isn’t one of the Kraken’s seven Stanley Cup winners, but he has 62 games of playoff experience, including back-to-back deep runs with the New York Islanders in 2020 and 2021. Both times, they were stopped just short of the Stanley Cup Final by current teammate Yanni Gourde and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who went on to win both championships.

“I’ve always said, momentum during the regular season seems to be game to game … in the playoffs, it seems to be shift to shift,” he said.

Kraken coach Dave Hakstol shared his momentum theory.

“I’m not a huge believer that it carries from game to game. You have to create your momentum, game in and game out,” he said.

The road teams won all four Game 1s on Tuesday night and six of eight in this first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. With the Winnipeg Jets taking down the Vegas Golden Knights 5-1, both Western Conference wild-card teams started strongly against the division champions.

“Nerves,” was one of coach Avalanche coach Jared Bednar’s theories Wednesday morning. “Underdog teams with something to prove has a little to do with it, a little chip on their shoulder.”

The Kraken have opted for rest this season and often cancel practice the day after games, sometimes as a kind of jokey reward, but regardless of the result. They probably needed the day off more than usual after a hard-hitting and sound defensive performance in Game 1.

The teams meet again in Denver on Thursday night.

“We’re going to have to be a little bit better. We know that,” Hakstol said. “That mental sharpness, that will be there. Our group has been pretty consistent, pretty driven.

“Flip the page. Next opportunity is Game 2.”