National Hockey League
Colorado 3, Seattle 2
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, April 20, 2023
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Referees: Kendrick Nicholson, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Steve Barton, James Tobias
Attendance: 18141

Artturi Lehkonen and Devon Toews had a goal and assist each, Valeri Nichushkin also scored and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Seattle Kraken 3-2 in Denver in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Thursday night.

Alexandar Georgiev turned away 27 shots for the Avalanche, who overcame a two-goal deficit and evened the Western Conference series at 1-1. Game 3 is Saturday night in Seattle.

Justin Schultz and Brandon Tanev scored for the Kraken, Yanni Gourde assisted on both goals and Philipp Grubauer made 38 saves.

Both teams had quality chances during a physical third period, and Colorado finally cashed in off a faceoff. Nathan MacKinnon won it, and the puck eventually went to Lehkonen, whose shot got through traffic.

Grubauer made the save, but the rebound came to Toews in the first circle, and his shot to the far post at 12:59 gave the Avalanche their first lead of the series.

As in Game 1, Seattle scored early. Eeli Tolvanen had the puck along the boards and passed it to Schultz as he skated into the zone. Schultz beat Georgiev with a wrister at 2:40 of the first period.

Colorado had a chance to tie on a power play later in the period, but the Kraken struck again. Gourde chased the puck into the Avalanche zone, won a battle in the corner and fed Tanev near the blue line. His short-handed goal gave Seattle a 2-0 lead at 13:27.

Colorado got even with two goals in a span of 48 seconds. Lehkonen cut the deficit in half when he deflected Cale Makar's shot from the point past Grubauer at 6:42 of the second period.

Moments later, Nichushkin came off the bench and skated into the Kraken zone as Evan Rodrigues passed the puck to him. Nichushkin got ahead of the defense, stickhandled through the slot and lifted a backhander past Grubauer at 7:30 of the second.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Seattle   Colorado
Yanni Gourde 2 Points Artturi Lehkonen 2
Justin Schultz 1 Goals Artturi Lehkonen 1
Yanni Gourde 2 Assists Artturi Lehkonen 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
Brandon Tanev 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Philipp Grubauer .927 Save Percentage Alexandar Georgiev .931
Philipp Grubauer 38 Saves Alexandar Georgiev 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Seattle 29 2 0-2 2-2 8 26
Colorado 41 3 0-2 2-2 8 32
Upcoming Games
  • Colorado will play their next game on the road against Seattle. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .647 after a win and .581 after a loss.
  • Seattle will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Kraken have a W/L % of .587 after a win and .528 after a loss.