(Seattle) Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar didn’t want to be supporting characters in a historic night for the Seattle Kraken.
The trio took center stage and restored home-court advantage to the defending Stanley Cup champions.
MacKinnon and Rantanen scored 1:28 early in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche spoiled Seattle’s first playoff home game with a 6-4 win Saturday night in Game 3 of the series. of the first round.
The Avalanche relied on their best players to take a 2-1 series lead.
“I think scoring in the playoffs on the road is awesome. It’s a nice feeling no matter how you get them. It feels good,” MacKinnon said. “A lot of guys scored important goals tonight. »
MacKinnon scored his first two goals, Makar added his first of these playoffs after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player last year, and Rantanen scored for a second straight game, capping the victory with a goal in an empty net with 2:14 to go.
MacKinnon relied on a breakaway late in the first period to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. His second goal was even better, taking advantage of Seattle’s fourth line being stuck on the ice, he fired a wrist shot that trumped Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer to give a 5-3 lead.
MacKinnon’s second goal came moments after Rantanen completed a 3-on-2 climb and silenced the fans in the second half.
“He was the difference we expected in big games, in games to win, in critical games, in the regular season and in the playoffs,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of MacKinnon. “He played with a lot of speed, competitiveness, physicality, and when he got the puck he was very hard to check. »
Alexandar Georgiev made 26 saves for the Avalanche. Game 4 is Monday night in Seattle.
