Toews scores winning goal as Avs rally past Kraken

*Photo from the Globe and Mail*

Series tied 1-1

   There was no chance the defending champions were losing again. Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist, Devon Toews had the game winning goal, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Seattle Kraken 3-2 on Thursday in Denver.

   Finding themselves in a two run hole, the Avalanche rallied for 3 unanswered goals to pick up the lead and the win to tie the series at a game apiece. Both Lehkonen and Toews each had a goal and an assist, being the only multi point players for the Avalanche.

   Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said "We knew we hadn't played our best hockey at all or anywhere even close in the first minutes, and part of that is with some of the things the Kraken are doing and a lot of it is on us. So, breaking the game down and just trying to string a couple shifts together. If it goes off track, then start fresh again, and that's what we talked about, and guys did a good job of it. We talked about it on the bench during the second period, and actually as the game went on as well."

   Starting the scoring for the Kraken was Justin Schultz, who gave them a 1-0 lead with assists from Eeli Tolvanen and Yanni Gourde 2:40 into the game. While shorthanded 13:27 into the opening period, Brandon Tanev scored for the Kraken, doubling the lead to 2-0 after one period with the lone assist going to Gourde.

   In the second period, Lehkonen got the Avalanche on the board, making it 2-1 with Bowen Byram and Cale Makar assisting. Valeri Nichushkin scored less than a minute later for the Avalanche, tying the game in the blink of an eye. Toews then scored in the 3rd period to put the Avalanche ahead 3-2, which lasted.

   Colorado forward Evan Rodrigues said that "The goals obviously helped, but I think we just simplified. I think we were pressing a little bit, and once we got that first one, we kind of took a deep breath, got the second one quickly, and after that just kept rolling. Fed off the crowd and started to play a lot more simple."

   Getting the start in goal was Alexandar Georgiev for the second time, picking up his first win of the series. Georgiev stopped 27 of 29 shots from the Kraken in the win, which was good for a strong .931 save percentage.

   It was Philipp Grubauer in goal once again for the Kraken, getting tagged with the loss as the series evened up. Grubauer turned away 38 out of the 41 shots on goal, recording a .927 save percentage in the loss.

   After the game, Gourde said that "Obviously, going up 2-0 against that group over there, it's good. It's really good. We're in a great spot after the first period. We knew they were going to push, but for part of that second period we didn't really have a response. We've just got to manage the game a little bit better, know what to do, slow the game down a little bit and go back to our roots and what works for us. When we do that, we're a pretty successful group."

   Up next, game 3 of the series is on Saturday night as the series shifts to Seattle in the Pacific Northwest. With the series tied, both teams are aiming to take a 2-1 series lead.