Avs’ ‘most complete’ effort yet sends series to G7

Published

2 years ago

April 30, 2023

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3:09 AM ET

SEATTLE — Needing answers to stave off elimination, the Colorado Avalanche found quite a few Friday in a 4-1 series-tying win in Game 6 against the Seattle Kraken.

Exactly how did the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche force a Game 7 on Sunday against the upstart Kraken at Ball Arena? They had what everyone in their dressing room collectively described as their strongest and most complete performance of the postseason to this point.

“I think it was the most complete of this series,” said Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen, who finished with a goal and an assist. “We haven’t had a full 60 yet, like a full good 60. But today we did. We played three good periods even though they scored the first goal against. But we stuck to our identity.”

All the items that challenged the Avalanche through the first five games of the series became details that aided them to keep their season alive.

The Kraken scored first for the sixth straight time this series. It’s just that Game 6 saw the Avalanche score four straight goals, with a few of those coming from unexpected faces.

Rantanen scored the game-tying goal with 20 seconds left in the first period. Yet it was veteran defenseman Erik Johnson who scored what proved to be the winning goal with more than 13 minutes left in the second period.

The Avalanche’s longest-serving member played 63 games this season without scoring a goal, only for his first of the year to be the one that kept his team alive. Johnson’s goal was also significant because it was the first goal to be scored by a player outside the Avalanche’s top-six forward group or a defenseman who wasn’t Devon Toews or Cale Makar.

“[Pavel Francouz] told me before the game I was going to have a hat trick, so he’s mad at me after the game that I only had one,” Johnson joked. “At my point in my career, I’m trying to do whatever I can to help the team win. If that’s put a goal in the net, if that’s blocking a shot, if that’s making a big hit, you gotta adapt your game and evolve as the game evolves.”

Getting a pair of goals from winger Artturi Lehkonen solidified the Avalanche’s lead. But it was what they did in the build-up around those goals that allowed them to find separation from the Kraken.

One of the ways the Kraken kept the Avalanche in check was with an aggressive forecheck that takes away time and space while also limiting scoring chances.

The Avalanche’s forecheck did just that against the Kraken. It’s how they were able to limit the Kraken to one goal on a series-low 23 shots.

Another avenue the Avalanche used for success was by controlling the puck. The Avs finished with 38 shots and had a shot-attempt percentage of nearly 57%, according to Natural Stat Trick.

And even though the Avs were 0-for-5 on the power play, they still generated more consistent movement in Game 6 than they did all series.

“We finally got to wear them down,” Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues said. “We were hanging onto the puck and making them defend. When you’re consistently in the o-zone like they were to us in the first five games, you have energy to defend. I thought we started to take it to them. We were getting first on pucks because their D was starting to get tired and that’s what’s been key for us all year and I thought we finally did that tonight.”

It has been a hectic week for the Avs, one that started with them dropping two straight games to fall into a 3-1 series hole. Then came the Thursday revelation surrounding Valeri Nichushkin, the hulking Avalanche two-way forward who hadn’t played since Game 2 and was indefinitely ruled out for the rest of the series for what Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said were “personal reasons.”

“There’s a lot of off the ice things going on like we all know,” said Rantanen, one of the team’s three alternate captains. “But I think we were still dialed in about just winning the one game and see what happens in Game 7. I feel like guys kept it together really well and we were dialed in.”

Sports

Rodriguez makes history with another 20-20 year

Published

10 hours ago

August 4, 2025

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Rodriguez makes history with another 20-20 year

ESPN News Services

Aug 3, 2025, 07:04 PM ET

SEATTLE — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.

Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning.

“That’s a very big accomplishment,” Rodríguez told reporters, according to MLB.com. “I know my family’s very happy, and I’m sure they’re thinking of all the things I had to do to be able to get here. To be able to do it with this team and this organization is awesome. I’m just excited to see where things are going to go from here.”

Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second, and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings Sunday.

The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but tallied only one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sports

Marlins def. Yankees, earn 1st-ever sweep of N.Y.

Published

15 hours ago

August 4, 2025

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Marlins def. Yankees, earn 1st-ever sweep of N.Y.

ESPN News Services

Aug 3, 2025, 04:55 PM ET

MIAMI — Kyle Stowers hit a three-run homer and the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Yankees 7-3 on Sunday, completing their first-ever sweep of the Yankees in a series of three or more games.

The Marlins (55-55) reached .500 for the first time since April 15, when the team was 8-8. Since June 13, the Marlins are 30-14; that’s tied with the 2003 team for the most wins in a 44-game span in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

The 2003 Marlins went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series in six games.

Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (5-5) pitched six innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts and one walk. His only blemish came against the first batter he faced. Trent Grisham drove Cabrera’s 98.1 mph four-seam fastball to right-center.

Miami rookie Jakob Marsee, who made his major league debut on Friday, was 2-for-4 and finished a single short of the cycle.

Stowers made it 6-1 when he connected on an 0-2 fastball from Brent Headrick, who entered in the fourth with two on after starter Luis Gil (0-1) was lifted 3⅓ innings into his season debut.

Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, struck out three and surrendered five runs and five hits while issuing four walks in his return from a high-grade lat strain. He threw 77 pitches.

Gil’s shaky debut comes at a rough point in the season for the Yankees, whose inconsistency has prompted a rash of criticism, the latest coming from former Yankees stars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on Fox’s pregame show Saturday night.

“They make way too many mistakes,” Jeter said. “Way too many mistakes, and you can’t get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams.”

Added Rodriguez: “Where’s the accountability?”

Boone addressed those criticisms before Sunday’s game, saying it comes with the territory of being the Yankees, but he added after the loss that it’s “gut-check” time for his club.

New York’s weekend series at Miami included the Yankees blowing a six-run lead in a wild 13-12 loss on Friday, before a 2-0 loss on Saturday.

The Yankees had a seven-game lead in the AL East in late May. By July 2, the lead was gone and the Yankees have been looking up at Toronto in the division ever since. The red-hot Boston Red Sox, who were more than 10 games behind the Yankees about two months ago, have overtaken their rival for the second spot in the AL East and AL wild-card lead.

“It’s getting late,” Boone said. “And it’s certainly not too late for us. I am confident that we’re going to get it together. But that’s all it is right now is, you know, it’s empty until we start doing it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.