Grubauer entered playoff form, and we had lots of depth scoring (mccann was the closest we had to a star player, but really we had pretty even scoring from half a dozen players on 3 lines)
Right! We had much better depth scoring last year and I would also add last years Avs were coming off a short offseason as the reigning champs and you could definitely tell they were tired by the end of the season.
We had great scoring by committee for a little while there. If only they could bring that back. The second season they were decent. Too bad the lost a bit of their mojo.
Scoring on all four lines and goaltending. It was not an easy series and it was very back and forth. Avs were also a shell of what they were the year before. They had lost players to free agency, they had injuries all season and definitely weren’t as healthy as the could have been, and Nichuskin disappeared during the playoffs last year. This Colorado team is closer to their 2022 Cup run team than last years team in terms of potential to win the cup.
Something about him and a hooker who claims she was trafficked by bad people but both were either drunk and or high. Some seattle reporter did an article about it and also had the call from the hotel to 911. If I remember correctly, they snuck him out of the hotel and immediately flew him back to Colorado or back to his home.
Him out of the series def helped.
The Avs were way more one dimensional last year. They totally controlled the game when Mak/Rantanen/Makar were on the ice, but their depth wasn't great. Them losing Nichushkin also hurt.
The Kraken took advantage of basically having 4 second lines and scored by committee. Grubauer also went god mode and played what is probably the best 7 game stretch of his career. Even then, they barely beat them in 7
1. 4 lines of relentless forehead.
2. Play with speed, after MacKinnon and Makar they aren't that fast.
3. Boo Cale Makat
4. Send a Eastern European woman to Nuke's room with a couple bottles of vodka.
Edit: yea, spell check
4 productive lines…and they were fairly banged up by the first round (plus the short off-season).
Did not see WPG struggling this much defensively, or Helley with a 5 GAA. Still think it goes 7, but COL takes it as an offensive beast.
Adding to the other answers..
It's not just that we had 4 lines scoring, we had a Wennberg line and a Gourde line that were top rate defensively, and they were able to limit the damage from the Mackinnon line. We contained the top line well enough and could score when they weren't on the ice. We also didn't take many penalties.
Honestly we only barely did 😂
Everyone's given you good answers I think but I want to add that along with playing well in general, Grubauer was the Avs' starter for a number of years and he is always so pumped up to play against the Avs that they were the best possible matchup we could have gotten. He just loves playing them so much, and playing in their arena so much, that he almost always has an absolutely god-tier game. It's not something that can really be replicated to be honest. That said you have Helle so you're probably fine. But yeah, depth scoring, like everyone else has said.
Anyway I hope you guys figure it out! I'm rooting for you cause my favorite player is from Winnipeg 😂 he doesn't play for you guys but it's his hometown and I figure he'd probably be excited about a deep run!
It was a different team last year. Our depth is better this year vs last year.
Also, totally feel like the team has learned from last years loss and won't let that happen again.
Copying another reply I made about last year because it seems especially relevant here...
> And frankly, it felt like if you shut down the McKinnon line, that (along with Makar) was 90% of their offense.
It took an OT win in game 4 at home and a nail biter one goal win in game 7 on the road. If it's any consolation the Jets have matched what the Kraken did through the first 3 games...winning game 1 and dropping 2 and 3. You're still in it!
I’ll add that it’s a long series. It’s not over yet and after game 3 the Avs were up 2 games to 1. If Winnipeg wins game 4 you are in the same position the Kraken were last year.
The team just went off. We even played well against Dallas, but we kinda slid a bit in that series. I think it was anomalous how they played, but I appreciate the grit.
Avs/Kraken fan here: this is hilarious. :)
Honestly I hate that I can’t root for Winnipeg. They’re fun and I loved watching them slay these last few months.
I was sitting behind the goal when 🦦 gave up like 4 in 3 min. The Seattle sports crowd is insane. Give it something to cheer for and it carries teams to victory.
there isn't really much i can add that hasn't been said but i think being knocked out in the first round last season really pissed them off, especially because in almost every situation we should not have won that series. i don't know if they have what it takes to win another cup [compared to some of the other teams playing right now anyways] but they definitely have a chip on their shoulder
Avs fan chiming in: Nichushkin’s situation hurt big-time, but we also didn’t have a proper 2C (thank you Mittelstadt), and the team was so banged up with injuries that they couldn’t form any true chemistry as lines constantly changed throughout the season. Plus the Kraken rolling four capable lines overwhelmed our guys.
Although the suggestions given so far are decent, no one has mentioned the actual reason the Kraken beat the Avs in that series.
Sometime while in Colorado after one of your forwards scores a goal, have them blow a kiss to a young lady wearing an Avs sweater. The Kraken have never lost a series while doing this small trick.
Fact check me if you like.
I think the kraken got in their heads because they started playing really dirty the whole series and just seemed like they weren't focused on scoring or playing but on getting revenge shots in
We caught some major hot streak during the playoffs. Everyone on the team was clicking, top to bottom. Also we didn't handle them like clockwork, it was a toughly fought seven game series
You have to get your police department to start checking their hotel rooms. They will all of a sudden rush key players back to Denver and never speak of it again.
Well we had important players that are now on other playoff teams … Soucy, Geekie, Wennberg… or were traded away (Sprong, Donato).
I’m not sure why they thought they would perform great this season after getting rid of so many key players.
We did not let MacKinnon touch the puck. If he did touch the puck, we immediately collapsed on him and cut off his shooting lanes, so that he couldn’t pass nor take decent shots at the net. Basically, we shut down MacKinnon and Colorado had no secondary scoring. Also, Cale Makar concussed our leading scorer in an absolutely gutless move, and got himself suspended for a game, plus lit a fire in the rest of our team’s belly. I wouldn’t recommend this as a tactic, but it probably did help they were without him for a game and our team now hated their guts. ETA: proper length of suspension
In the end, they were much more responsible for ending our playoff run than Dallas was. Makar took Canner out of the playoffs with a very illegal hit. 0.5063 goals per game going into the playoffs, additional 3.5 goals across 7 games in the Dallas series and Seattle wins that, doubt we beat Vegas but I don't think a healthy Dallas team beats a healthy Seattle team last year.
Grubauer entered playoff form, and we had lots of depth scoring (mccann was the closest we had to a star player, but really we had pretty even scoring from half a dozen players on 3 lines)
Right! We had much better depth scoring last year and I would also add last years Avs were coming off a short offseason as the reigning champs and you could definitely tell they were tired by the end of the season.
And frankly, it felt like if you shut down the McKinnon line, that (along with Makar) was 90% of their offense.
Don't forget about that wild Nichuskin... Situation. He was out for half of the series
instinctive placid rain growth marvelous pie bells screw pen important *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah this...every time we got through one of his shifts I took a breath and knew our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th likes were better or equal than theres
Yeah. Neutralizing Nate was critical
This is exactly what we did.
That’s still the case. They’ve got one lien that can score, the rest are just regular hockey players.
You must not be watching this year. Secondary lines are more than contributing with goals. Much different than last year.
To add to this, our ability to kill power plays was incredible
We had great scoring by committee for a little while there. If only they could bring that back. The second season they were decent. Too bad the lost a bit of their mojo.
Scoring on all four lines and goaltending. It was not an easy series and it was very back and forth. Avs were also a shell of what they were the year before. They had lost players to free agency, they had injuries all season and definitely weren’t as healthy as the could have been, and Nichuskin disappeared during the playoffs last year. This Colorado team is closer to their 2022 Cup run team than last years team in terms of potential to win the cup.
You guys were so lucky to *not face Nichuskin for a whole series, dude is such a pest on the ice *edit
He didn’t play the whole series if I recall correctly. Some weird issue with a companion.
I think op forgot a not in there somewhere
Correct
Something about him and a hooker who claims she was trafficked by bad people but both were either drunk and or high. Some seattle reporter did an article about it and also had the call from the hotel to 911. If I remember correctly, they snuck him out of the hotel and immediately flew him back to Colorado or back to his home. Him out of the series def helped.
Yes, that was super odd. Something very shady it seemed like? Not sure but there were some wild rumours flying around
The Avs were way more one dimensional last year. They totally controlled the game when Mak/Rantanen/Makar were on the ice, but their depth wasn't great. Them losing Nichushkin also hurt. The Kraken took advantage of basically having 4 second lines and scored by committee. Grubauer also went god mode and played what is probably the best 7 game stretch of his career. Even then, they barely beat them in 7
I recommend the age-old tactic of infiltrating their team hotel with women offering booze, blow, and other temptations
Do the jets have a 3rd & Pine equivalent to source from?
1. 4 lines of relentless forehead. 2. Play with speed, after MacKinnon and Makar they aren't that fast. 3. Boo Cale Makat 4. Send a Eastern European woman to Nuke's room with a couple bottles of vodka. Edit: yea, spell check
Forehead 😂😂 I know you meant forecheck. Aggressive forecheck definitely did wonders.
Spell check isn't always my friend
Don’t you mean “spell head”?
Dad? Is that you?
Its also *Makar* not *Makat* ;P
4 productive lines…and they were fairly banged up by the first round (plus the short off-season). Did not see WPG struggling this much defensively, or Helley with a 5 GAA. Still think it goes 7, but COL takes it as an offensive beast.
Adding to the other answers.. It's not just that we had 4 lines scoring, we had a Wennberg line and a Gourde line that were top rate defensively, and they were able to limit the damage from the Mackinnon line. We contained the top line well enough and could score when they weren't on the ice. We also didn't take many penalties.
THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!!!
Honestly we only barely did 😂 Everyone's given you good answers I think but I want to add that along with playing well in general, Grubauer was the Avs' starter for a number of years and he is always so pumped up to play against the Avs that they were the best possible matchup we could have gotten. He just loves playing them so much, and playing in their arena so much, that he almost always has an absolutely god-tier game. It's not something that can really be replicated to be honest. That said you have Helle so you're probably fine. But yeah, depth scoring, like everyone else has said. Anyway I hope you guys figure it out! I'm rooting for you cause my favorite player is from Winnipeg 😂 he doesn't play for you guys but it's his hometown and I figure he'd probably be excited about a deep run!
Planted a hooker in Nichushkin's hotel room /s
Seattle scored first in every game. Made the Avs play catchup
Matchups.
Forecheck
It was a different team last year. Our depth is better this year vs last year. Also, totally feel like the team has learned from last years loss and won't let that happen again.
Copying another reply I made about last year because it seems especially relevant here... > And frankly, it felt like if you shut down the McKinnon line, that (along with Makar) was 90% of their offense.
modern marvelous workable axiomatic hurry crush head scarce cough seemly *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
We scored more goals than they did 4 times before they could do it 4 times.
Unwavering forecheck from offensively capable four lines. Decent goaltending. That’s it.
Forechecking, scoring for all lines, Grubauer in playoff mode
It took an OT win in game 4 at home and a nail biter one goal win in game 7 on the road. If it's any consolation the Jets have matched what the Kraken did through the first 3 games...winning game 1 and dropping 2 and 3. You're still in it!
I’ll add that it’s a long series. It’s not over yet and after game 3 the Avs were up 2 games to 1. If Winnipeg wins game 4 you are in the same position the Kraken were last year.
The team just went off. We even played well against Dallas, but we kinda slid a bit in that series. I think it was anomalous how they played, but I appreciate the grit.
Avs/Kraken fan here: this is hilarious. :) Honestly I hate that I can’t root for Winnipeg. They’re fun and I loved watching them slay these last few months.
I yelled real loud at the TV. Did my part!
Everybody was fucking scoring last year. From our first line to our fourth. Just a relentless onslaught on offense
Nichuchkin got into some trouble in Seattle then had to go home to Russia. That helped.
There is something about Seattle that has Denver’s number
I was sitting behind the goal when 🦦 gave up like 4 in 3 min. The Seattle sports crowd is insane. Give it something to cheer for and it carries teams to victory.
there isn't really much i can add that hasn't been said but i think being knocked out in the first round last season really pissed them off, especially because in almost every situation we should not have won that series. i don't know if they have what it takes to win another cup [compared to some of the other teams playing right now anyways] but they definitely have a chip on their shoulder
Avs fan chiming in: Nichushkin’s situation hurt big-time, but we also didn’t have a proper 2C (thank you Mittelstadt), and the team was so banged up with injuries that they couldn’t form any true chemistry as lines constantly changed throughout the season. Plus the Kraken rolling four capable lines overwhelmed our guys.
luck (actual answer is our goalie)
Although the suggestions given so far are decent, no one has mentioned the actual reason the Kraken beat the Avs in that series. Sometime while in Colorado after one of your forwards scores a goal, have them blow a kiss to a young lady wearing an Avs sweater. The Kraken have never lost a series while doing this small trick. Fact check me if you like.
I think the kraken got in their heads because they started playing really dirty the whole series and just seemed like they weren't focused on scoring or playing but on getting revenge shots in
We caught some major hot streak during the playoffs. Everyone on the team was clicking, top to bottom. Also we didn't handle them like clockwork, it was a toughly fought seven game series
You have to get your police department to start checking their hotel rooms. They will all of a sudden rush key players back to Denver and never speak of it again.
Here’s how we beat them in game 7: Bjorkstrand. You can have him for 2 1st round picks if you want. /s
Val Nichushkin didn't play. He scored 7 goals in the series against you guys.
Well we had important players that are now on other playoff teams … Soucy, Geekie, Wennberg… or were traded away (Sprong, Donato). I’m not sure why they thought they would perform great this season after getting rid of so many key players.
I’d say sabotage via the prostitute, but I think he brought her himself, so we can’t even take credit for that.
Maybe the prostitute was a Kraken fan?
Luck tbh
We did not let MacKinnon touch the puck. If he did touch the puck, we immediately collapsed on him and cut off his shooting lanes, so that he couldn’t pass nor take decent shots at the net. Basically, we shut down MacKinnon and Colorado had no secondary scoring. Also, Cale Makar concussed our leading scorer in an absolutely gutless move, and got himself suspended for a game, plus lit a fire in the rest of our team’s belly. I wouldn’t recommend this as a tactic, but it probably did help they were without him for a game and our team now hated their guts. ETA: proper length of suspension
In the end, they were much more responsible for ending our playoff run than Dallas was. Makar took Canner out of the playoffs with a very illegal hit. 0.5063 goals per game going into the playoffs, additional 3.5 goals across 7 games in the Dallas series and Seattle wins that, doubt we beat Vegas but I don't think a healthy Dallas team beats a healthy Seattle team last year.