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Seattle Kraken vs Colorado Avalanche Game 3: Preview, Lines, Predictions: 2023 NHL Playoffs
Seattle Kraken will host their first playoff game in the city in 104 years. Even better, the hometown team enters this game with a chance to take a 2-1 series lead on defending Stanley Cup champions Colorado Avalanche.
Seattle was brought back down to Earth in Game 2. After shocking the Avalanche in Game 1, Seattle Kraken lost a second-period lead and could not overcome the 3-2 deficit in the third. But even so, the Kraken have been better than advertised in this series.
In their first-ever playoff series in only their second season, Seattle has gone toe-to-toe with the Cup champions. In two games, the Kraken have outscored Colorado 5-4 and held them to three goals or less on both occasions. To put that in perspective, the Avs scored 280 goals during the regular season and finished seventh with a +54 goal differential.
For the Avs, it feels like it's time for Nathan Mackinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar to break out. The dynamic trio has been held to only three points in the first two games and Mackinnon has yet to score a goal. There is simply no way to keep those players down much longer. But can they break through in the first-ever playoff game in Seattle?
A lot of that will depend on the play of Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer. The former Av stopped 38 of 41 in Game 1 and has put up a .927 save percentage in both contests. For Seattle to win this series, the team's goaltending had to be elite. So far, it has. Perhaps Grubauer is still a little upset about the Avs letting him go just before making a run to the Stanley Cup? Whatever it is, the Seattle Kraken just hope he keeps on doing it.
Seattle Kraken Projected Lineup
- McCann-Beniers-Eberle
- Schwartz-Wennberg-Geekie
- Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand
- Froden-Donato-Tanev
- Dunn-Larsson
- Oleksiak-Borgen
- Soucy-Schultz
- Grubauer
- Daccord
Colorado Avalanche Projected Lineup
- Rodrigues - MacKinnon - Rantanen
- Nichushkin - Compher - Lehkonen
- Newhook - Eller - Malgin
- Nieto - Cogliano - O'Connor
- Toews - Makar
- Girard - Manson
- Byram - E. Johnson
- Georgiev
- Francouz
Prediction
The Avalanche are so close to breaking out. And while there could be a six or seven-goal outburst in their future, it is unlikely to happen tonight to play spoiler for the Kraken's homecoming. Grubauer will be good again, and the Seattle Kraken will survive.
Seattle Kraken 4, Colorado Avalanche 3
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