No more overlooking the Kraken. Seattle crashed the playoff party at Ball Arena with a 3-1 Game 1 victory over the Avs on Tuesday.
Losing the first two games of a playoff series at home can often be a death sentence. Here are three keys to Avalanche redemption in Game 2 on Thursday (7:30 p.m. MT, ESPN).
1. Second-line repentance. Two of the Kraken’s three goals in Game 1 — the last two — were scored by their second line, while Colorado’s second line was on the ice. Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin are elite forecheckers who failed to forecheck in the offensive and neutral zones as Seattle pushed for a transition goal early in the second period.