DENVER — There were of course so many firsts for the Seattle Kraken in their postseason debut.
First playoff goal for the franchise (and answer to a future trivia question): Eeli Tolvanen. First playoff penalty: Will Borgen.
Above all, first playoff win and brief celebration.
Alex Wennberg had a goal and an assist, Philipp Grubauer stopped 34 shots, and the Kraken made a successful postseason debut by beating the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Tuesday night.
The second-year Kraken became the 13th expansion franchise to earn a win in their first postseason game, according to NHL Stats.
“Obviously, we played a good game, getting the first franchise win in the playoffs. But right now this is Game 1,” Wennberg said. “Obviously, we are happy about this performance, but we’ve got to do it again and do it again.”
Grubauer was sharp all night against his former team. He frustrated Colorado’s top scorers with one big save after another, while his defense helped neutralize the Avalanche’s blazing speed.
“It’s definitely a weird feeling coming back but also really familiar,” said Grubauer, who spent three seasons with the Avalanche before leaving for Seattle prior to the 2021-22 season. “There’s nothing better than playing against your old team in the playoffs.”
Nathan MacKinnon didn’t mince words when asked what he saw out of Grubauer.
“Nothing,” the Colorado forward said.
Mikko Rantanen had the lone goal for the Avalanche, who saw their streak of 10 straight first-round wins come to a halt. It was a string that included two sweeps and dated to 2020.
“Our whole team just wasn’t quite good enough,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought we did some good things. They obviously did more good things.”
Alexandar Georgiev, coming off a career-best 40-win season, made 27 saves.
Game 2 is Thursday in Denver.
The Kraken took a 2-1 lead into the third. They’ve been virtually automatic when leading after two periods, going 35-1-3 in the regular season. Morgan Geekie sealed it with a tally in the third.
Colorado pulled Georgiev for an extra skater with around 1:35 left but couldn’t close the gap.
“Not our best execution tonight, but still had plenty of chances,” MacKinnon said. “Now our focus is to move on.”
Grubauer benefitted from a little good fortune. A shot from Evan Rodrigues in the second period glanced off the top of Grubauer’s stick and caromed wide of the net. Later, Bowen Byram‘s wrist shot hit Grubauer’s shoulder and then bounced off the crossbar.
“[Grubauer] was great tonight,” Kraken forward Yanni Gourde said. “He made the saves, and we were able to clean up what was in front of us. He was a stud back there. Good to see him there.”
By jumping out to a 1-0 lead, Seattle became the fourth team in the past 20 years to open the scoring in its first playoff game. Tolvanen capitalized on a Colorado turnover to energize the Kraken and stun the crowd.
The lead lasted just over nine minutes as Rantanen tied it up on a pass from MacKinnon. Rantanen had 55 goals in the regular season, the most by an Avalanche player since the team moved to Denver before the 1995-96 season.
Don’t sleep on Seattle. Or perhaps do.
“They can do whatever you want,” Wennberg said of the doubters. “Obviously it comes down to the belief in the group right here. Everyone is going to have an opinion about the way we play now, but the focus is always going to be on us. We have a belief in this group.”
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.