Playoff Preview: Colorado Avalanche vs Seattle Kraken

 Our 3rd Preview from the West will see the 2 seed in the West Colorado Avalanche take on the WC1 Seattle Kraken. 

The defending champ Avs will look to start their train towards a repeat, and their first test is going to be against the Seattle Kraken. The Avs have dealt with a lot of injuries this season, but they came back and fought it anyway to get the top spot in the Central. Meanwhile, the Kraken are just about to play their first playoff series ever, after missing it badly last season. Both of these teams look optimisitic about their chances, while the Avs are going to have to deal with the playoffs without their captain, who is injured for the rest of the playoffs. The Kraken have gotten the best out of each of their playoffs, and now let's take a look at these teams.

The Avalanche came into their season looking to repeat, and they had a slow start and a lot of injuries, but ramped everything up after the break. They've fought hard and clinched the division in the last game of the season. They finished top 8 in the NHL with a 55 G%, while their xG% was a lot lower and only 13th in the NHL. But, that doesn't matter when you score goals. Their Corsi% is also 5th in the NHL with a 52.5, and their S% is middle of the pack. They have a solid defense metrically, with middle of the pack numbers in both their share of takeaways and giveaways in the defensive zone. Their team overall looks really solid, now let's look at the individual..

Nathan MacKinnon had one of the best seasons in the NHL this year. In just 71 games he put up 111 points, which is incredible. Mikko Rantanen also deserves credit for his 100 point season and for leading this team through the injuries. Cale Makar would be up there for Norris voting for sure if he played the whole season. Thankfully for the Avs, all of these players are healthy and ready for game 1 against Seattle, of course without Landeskog, though. 13 of the Avs 18 starting skaters have a Corsi% above 50, which is fantastic. Defensively, the Avs have found good performances again  out of Makar, Byram, and Devon Toews.

In Net, the Avs have improved. Alex Georgiev has had a top 7 in the NHL type season, with a 21.9 GSAx and a .918 SV%. He is likely to be the starter and I personally think he's a big improvement on Darcy Kuemper. The Avs are a very scary team this season, especially if Georgiev takes things to the next level in the playoffs.

The Kraken are the massive underdogs here. They had a good season but couldn't quite sneak in to the 3rd spot at the end of the season. They finished with a 53.42 G%, which was 10th in the NHL, but their xG% netted them a bit lower. Their Corsi% and other offensive metrics though as a whole were only just a bit behind the Avs, so that looks pretty promising. Defensively, the Kraken were actually a bit better than the Avs, which is again, solid to look at. The Kraken have been a really solid team this season with one problem: goaltending.

Offensively, the Kraken are another team with no true superstar, though Jared McCann had an impressive 40 goal season which propelled him among the stars of NHLers. The Defensive is led by Vince Dunn, who had an incredible season that saw him dominate as one of the NHL's best Two-Way d-men. Rookie Matty Beniers had a really solid rookie season, and the unit as a whole was really solid. They're one of the few teams in the west that can actually match the Avs and Oilers in terms of skater depth. But, again, that's all well and good, but the Kraken suffer from a goaltending issue.

In net, the Kraken have seen mass inconsistency. Philip Grubauer is finally playing back to average hockey, but still not great, while Martin Jones, who got a majority of the starts, played below average. Grubauer had a -.9 GSAx, while Jones had a -6.7 GSAx. Neither goalie impresses, and if I were the Kraken, I would surely start Grubauer, but Jones has led this team well. All in all, it's a tough call, but whichever way you swing it, the Goaltending is going to be a massive issue in this playoff series. 

Prediction

My prediction: Avs in 6

Season Series: 2-0-1 Kraken, 1-1-1 from Avs perspective

This should be a series the Avs win 80% of the time. While the Kraken do match the Avs in terms of skaters, there's a big drop in talent when you compare the goalies. Alex Georgiev is going to be a massive difference maker for this Avs team, and with him, this team is going to be a serious contender for the repeat. But, the Kraken do have a few things going for them, namely the fact that they have a slightly better defensive core. But, the Avs have the experience, while the Kraken do not, and so I think the Avs will indeed take this one. 

Thank you for reading Beyond Center Ice! Give BCI a follow out on Instagram and share this post with your friends, it would be much appreciated!