In Denver, Yanni Gourde tipped in a shot from the left point at 1:40 of the third period on Wednesday night to give the Seattle Kraken a 3-1 lead over the Colorado Avalanche.
That turned out to the be the game-winner when Evan Rodriguez scored at 16:33 in the frame to trim the deficit for the Avs down to 3-2.
“We’ve played to our identity. We’ll continue to try to do that. That’s the most important thing,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “You get to this time of year, the stage is a little bigger, it’s a little brighter. There’s a little bit more on the line and everything means a little bit more, but you still have to fall back on who you are. And that’s where I believe our veteran guys have done a nice job, in keeping our group pretty even-keeled and just kind of [focusing on the] next job at hand.”
Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves in the win.
“It was off my stick. I tried to get to the net for [Oliver Bjorkstrand] to take a shot, and then it went to the point,” Gourde said. “I tried to box my guy out with my left hand, and with my right, that’s my top hand, I was able to tip the puck. A great shot by our defenseman. Every time we shoot, on and off the stick, it allows our guys to go to the net and get those pucks.”
The Kraken now head home for Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead.
“I’m sure we’re frustrated right now that we let an opportunity slip away at home,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “Again, wasn’t anywhere near the game that we have to play in order to have success. It’s not the game we played all year long, but we’ll have to reset and get there. We’ve been a confident team on the road, but right now in this series, I’d say confidence is low, and we’ve got to find a way to get it back and build it back.”
Game 6 is set for Friday night.
Following a scoreless first stanza, Morgan Geekie staked the Kraken to a 1-0 lead at 6:35 of the middle frame.
“I was just in the right spot at the right time,” Geekie said. “[Alex Wennberg] made a great play, and ‘Schwartzy’ put it on net. I just tried to get there and tried to get the rebound.”
Nathan MacKinnon scored his third of the series 80 seconds later for a 1-1 tie.
“It’s tough, yeah. We didn’t have our A-game or our B-game tonight, I don’t know why,” MacKinnon said. “We just got to find a way to bring Game 7 back here. I think we’re just shooting ourselves in the foot. I know it’s cliche to say, but I think there’s plays to be made out there and we’re just not making them for whatever reason right now. It’s not a matter of work or competitiveness or anything like that.”
The Kraken called up Tye Kartye from the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League, that paid dividends when Kartye scored at 9:59 of the second to give the Kraken a 21 lead.
“I was just kind of driving the net, and I saw he had the puck and tried to get open. And, obviously, he made a pretty special pass there,” Kartye said. “A year ago, a year and a half ago, this was my wildest dream. So this day’s been pretty special.”
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Alexandar Georgiev made 26 saves in the loss.
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