How the Kraken pushed defending champion Avalanche to brink of elimination

SEATTLE – One of an NHL-record 13 Kraken players to score in a playoff series made arguably his biggest contribution Wednesday night without even the benefit of a stick.
Center Alex Wennberg lost his stick killing a penalty in the final minute of the second period of Game 5 with the Kraken clinging to a one-goal lead and the puck along the side boards deep in his zone. Rather than panic, Swedish native Wennberg used inherent soccer skills to dribble the puck forward with his skates and somehow eluded onrushing Colorado Avalanche players.
Wennberg made it to center ice before Kraken reinforcements arrived, one of several unsung contributions by a deep lineup that’s outplayed the star-laden Avalanche.
“I mean, I would prefer to use the stick at that point – we were down one guy,” Wennberg said Thursday morning after the Kraken’s victory gave them a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series and a chance to dethrone the reigning Stanley Cup champions in Game 6 on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena. “You’ve just got to use whatever you’ve got right there. And it worked out. I mean, we play a little soccer before the game, and maybe that’s why we do it. If you need it, it’s right there.”
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol had spoken after the Game 5 win of small contributions throughout the lineup often unnoticed on the score sheet. The Kraken didn’t block as many shots as the Avalanche, but the ones they did – including efforts by Matty Beniers, Vince Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak and Wennberg – were of the huge, welt-inducing variety in swinging the game’s outcome.
Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer was again solid. But he was under enough pressure the latter half of the game that his teammates’ blocked shots might have proved the difference.
“We’re blocking shots, we’re taking big hits, and we’re making big hits,” said Wennberg, who helped set up Morgan Geekie for the Kraken’s fifth consecutive game-opening goal this series – tying a century-old NHL record for a franchise’s first playoff appearance. “We talk about it a lot. About the mentality of our game. And that’s the way we do it on the ice.”
That shared mentality to offense and defense appears to be grinding down the Avalanche. With goals by Wennberg, Yanni Gourde, Eeli Tolvanen, Brandon Tanev, Jaden Schwartz, Daniel Sprong, Tye Kartye, Justin Schultz, Will Borgen, Jordan Eberle, Beniers, Oleksiak and Geekie, the Avalanche can’t key on one or two guys.
Even with 40-goal man Jared McCann – who sent a congratulatory postgame text to teammates following Game 5 – out indefinitely because of a suspected concussion following a late hit by Cale Makar, AHL call-up Kartye stepped in and scored the go-ahead Kraken goal Wednesday in his NHL debut.
Contrasted with the Avalanche, who have seen eight of 14 series goals come from just two players – Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon – and it’s obvious Colorado is losing this battle of attrition. The loss of puck-moving quarterback Cale Makar to a one-game suspension for his Game 4 hit on McCann seemed to throw off Colorado’s offense Wednesday, given he’s the other major scoring threat alongside Rantanen and MacKinnon.
Without Makar around, MacKinnon logged more than 27 minutes of ice time, and Rantanen clicked in a shade beyond 23. Meanwhile, the leading Kraken forward was Gourde at just beyond 22 minutes and Wennberg a bit over 20.
Defenseman Adam Larsson was the only Kraken player even within 2 minutes of MacKinnon’s hefty ice time – defenders typically are out there longest – suggesting the Avalanche might be pushing their biggest stars to the physical brink. MacKinnon had a pair of Game 3 goals but has been largely a nonfactor since despite scoring off a Grubauer miscue Wednesday.
In fact, on Kartye’s goal Wednesday, MacKinnon was caught up ice in the Kraken’s zone arguing about being tripped with no penalty called. He swung his stick at the glass in protest.
Meanwhile, the Kraken have largely maintained composure throughout a series in which they could easily have lost their cool after Makar’s illegal hit put McCann out. They took only two minor penalties in Game 5, and the Avalanche have shown signs of mounting frustration in their inability to solve this combined Kraken effort.
“We’re working as five-man units, and everyone’s doing their part,” said Kraken defenseman Schultz, tied with Schwartz for the team lead in playoff points with five. “We’re trying not to give them too much time and space. Obviously, they’re going to create some chances. They’ve got some really talented players over there. We’re just trying to limit them.”
Schultz said Thursday he isn’t surprised the Kraken have spread their playoff scoring in record fashion. After all, they led the NHL with six 20-goal men in the regular season and saw 13 reach double-digits.
“We’ve been doing it all year with contributions from everyone,” he said. “I think that’s what a good team is made of, and it’s continuing right now in the playoffs.”
Kraken coach Hakstol agreed Thursday that the 13 playoff goal scorers show there’s no difference from the regular season.
“It just says that we haven’t changed who we are,” he said. “And we know that. We knew that coming in. For us to have a chance at success we’re going to have to continue on the same pathway. It gets harder to do at this time of the year against this quality of opponent in a seven-game series. But for us, it’s just continuing to be who we are creating wins with the old formula.”
With a chance at hometown history come Friday.
“That’s the opportunity, right?” Hakstol said of wrapping up the franchise’s first playoff series in front of Climate Pledge fans. “You see the excitement around the city, and even as you watch the game back home – flashing back [with live TV broadcast shots] to the Queen Anne Beer Hall and all the people having fun. You want people to enjoy this, to have fun.”
So far, the Avalanche are the ones not having any fun. And the Kraken appear confident that, if they maintain their combined thrust, that trend will continue toward a stunning elimination few imagined possible.