Kraken stun defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche in playoff debut

Alex Wennberg had a goal and an assist, Philipp Grubauer stopped 34 shots and the visiting Seattle Kraken made a successful playoff 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 post-season game, according to NHL Stats. Eeli Tolvanen scored the first playoff goal in team history early in the first period, and Morgan Geekie sealed it with a tally in the third.

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.

Game 2 is Thursday in Denver.

Grubauer was sharp all night against his former team. He frustrated Colorado's top scorers with one big save after another, while his defence helped neutralize the Avalanche's blazing speed.

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. Geekie extended the advantage with a goal off the pads of Georgiev early in the third.

Colorado pulled Georgiev for an extra skater with around 1:35 left but couldn't close the gap.

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-ever 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 Nathan 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.

Rangers defeat Devils in series opener

Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves, Chris Kreider scored two power-play goals and the visiting New York York Rangers stunned the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

The Devils, who set franchise records with 112 points and 52 wins in the regular season and beat New York three times in four games, never got their rush game going. When they did threaten, they either missed the net or Shesterkin denied them.

Their only goal came on a penalty shot by Jack Hughes with 2:46 left to play. Vitek Vanecek had 18 saves.

The Rangers also won the special teams battle. Kreider scored on two of their three power plays and the Rangers blanked the Devils on their four man advantages — holding them without even a shot on goal — though the penalty shot came in place of a power play.

Game 2 is back here on Thursday night.

The Rangers, who finished third in the Metropolitan Division behind the Devils, set the tone in the opening 10 minutes and never looked back. They hit, they blocked shots and they were very physical around the net.

Tarasenko, who was acquired from St. Louis before the trade deadline, scored 4:58 into the game with a shot from between the circle on a nice pass K'Andre Miller.

Kreider scored on a tip at 9:30 with Miles Wood in the penalty box. Lindgren, who had one goal in the regular season, scored in close late in the second period and Kreider had another tip in early in the third.

After Hughes made his penalty shot, Chytil scored into an empty net.