The Seattle Kraken couldn’t have dreamed about a better playoff debut. The Kraken played its first postseason game in franchise history on Thursday against the reigning Stanley Cup champions Colorado Avalanche and managed to get away with a massive 3-1 win.
Kraken was led to the victory by center Alex Wennberg, who finished the night with a goal and an assist, while goalie Philipp Grubauer made 34 saves to stop Avalanche’s high-octane offense from getting on the scoreboard more than once.
Speaking with reporters after the game, Wennberg said while the team enjoyed their first playoff win, they will not get carried away.
“Obviously, we played a good game, getting the first franchise win in the playoffs. But right now, this is Game 1,” Wennberg said. “Obviously, we are happy about this performance, but we’ve got to do it again and do it again.”
Kraken finished the 2022-23 regular season, their second in NHL, with a 46-28-8 record, and entered the postseason as a seventh seed. Many believed that being matched with the Avalanche in the first round would lead to Kraken having an unceremonious exit from the postseason, but it doesn’t look so now. Even if the lack of playoff experience gets the better of them later in the series, they have shown that they deserved their place in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the league, for that matter.
