SEATTLE — Save for a shoddy finish, the preseason Stanley Cup favorite rolled over the expansion Seattle Kraken and its former goalie late Friday in its first game against the NHL’s 32nd team.
Five Avalanche scored, including two power-play goals from winger Andre Burakovsky and two at even-strength from defenseman Cale Makar in a 7-3 victory.
“We’re finding our rhythm right now,” said defenseman Erik Johnson, the Avs’ longest-tenured player.
Colorado, now 4-0 during star center Nathan MacKinnon’s absence, took a 4-0 lead to chase starting goalie Chris Driedger just 5:33 into the second period. The Avs (8-5-1) added two goals on former netminder Philipp Grubauer, who signed with Seattle as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and eventually built a 7-0 lead.
Sans MacKinnon, Colorado has outscored its last four opponents a combined 24-8.
“Probably shows the depth of our team and how much better we’ll be when we get Nate back,” Johnson said. “We’re getting contributions throughout the lineup and when we get Nate back it will be a huge boost for us.”
Makar and Johnson put pucks past Grubauer to complete a four-goal second period en route to a 6-0 lead. Nicolas Aube-Kubel, playing his second game with the Avs after being claimed off waivers from Philadelphia last week, made it 7-0 early in the final frame.
“I didn’t score on Grubi in (three) years in practice,” Johnson joked. “Somehow I scored on him today.”
Goalie Darcy Kuemper lost what would have been his first shutout with the Avs when Seattle (4-12-1) scored a power-play goal 1:10 after Aube-Kubel put the third puck behind Grubauer. Colorado committed four penalties in less than five minutes to get the crowd back into the game.
“I loved our team effort,” said Avs coach Jared Bednar. “Obviously, penalties in the third period kept us playing in our zone and they got some life out of that. But for the most part our game was really good.”
The Avs scored in every situation, getting a shorthanded goal from Valeri Nichushkin to take a 2-0 lead just 6:39 into the game. Makar scored his first for a 3-0 lead early in the second period and Burakovsky added his second at 5:33 to end Driedger’s outing.
Following Friday’s 7-3 win at Seattle, #Avs coach Jared Bednar discussed his two-year extension with the team pic.twitter.com/YDnde3drDH
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) November 20, 2021
Here’s a minute of sound from Joe Sakic about extending #Avs coach Jared Bednar through 2023-24 pic.twitter.com/DyTESAPZ7x
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) November 20, 2021
