In Denver, Seattle’s Oliver Bjorkstrand hit for a double in the second period on Sunday night to help the Kraken to a 2-1 win over the Avalanche in Game 7 of their first round series. 
In their first franchise playoff appearance, the Kraken dispatched the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.
“I think it’s huge for us, for the team, and our confidence as a group, bouncing back from last year, and then obviously for the city of Seattle,” Bjorkstrand said. “You feel the excitement there and how much they want to back us up. So yeah, it’s fun being a part of.”
Philipp Grubauer made 33 saves in the win that defeated his former team.
“Today, it was about winning a playoff series,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “It took a lot of energy out of us, that’s for sure. You know what, it gives them their just reward, right? So guys can feel good about that. It continues to bolster the confidence of our group, even though I don’t know that that ever has really wavered over the last few months. And like I said, it gives them that checkmark of success in the first playoff series that our franchise has played in.”
Bjorkstrand’s first goal was errant goal that deflected off Colorado defenseman Alex Newhook b and into the net for the 1-0 lead.
“Throughout the whole series, I’d like to contribute with goals and offensively, but tried to stick with it,” Bjorkstrand said. “Game 7, I didn’t want to go out not being able to sleep at night because I didn’t perform well. So I felt like I tried to give it a push, and I don’t know. Some nights you just kind of feel the puck better, and I feel like this is just one of those nights.”
Bjorkstrand’s second was wicked wrist shot from the left circle that clanged off the post and into the net.
“When he’s on top of his game, he’s so fast,” Seattle’s Yanni Gourde said. “He’s skating, blocking shots, winning races, winning battles, shooting the puck. It’s probably his best game of the year.”
Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen scored off a power play marker with 28 seconds left in the second period to trim the deficit to 2-1.
“I thought we played a great game tonight,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “I’m really proud of this team. Just the way they played, how hard they played all year long. It was pretty impressive what they’ve overcome. Some years it’s a little tougher than others, and this was a tough one.”
Nathan MacKinnon scored early in the third period, but the goal was waved off for an 
offsides call.
“They had no doubt on it,” Hakstol said of his video coaches. “They nailed it. That is not an easy task, and they had it immediately. Like I said, before the puck went in the net, they already had it and had communicated down to the bench.”
Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves in the loss.
“Very, very disappointing, especially the way we played. I feel like we emptied the tank, that’s for sure. We left our heart out there. Didn’t come our way,” Rantanen said. “We played better than them, but sometimes in hockey, it doesn’t matter. Their goalie played well, and we couldn’t find the back of the net. So obviously disappointing to end the season like this.”.
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