The Aftermath: Strong Third Period Pushes Avalanche Past Kraken

Three third-period goals on Tuesday gave the Avalanche all they needed to defeat the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.

Trailing by one, Nathan MacKinnon tied it up, and Brock Nelson put the Avs ahead, resulting in a 5-3 victory following an empty-net goal from MacKinnon.

Artturi Lehkonen and Samuel Girard also scored for Colorado, which improved to a league-leading 24-2-7 this season. The Avs have won three straight games and will have two days off before taking on the Winnipeg Jets at Ball Arena on Friday.

The Avs got the scoring started at 12:19. After an early surge from the Kraken, Martin Necas received a pass from Josh Manson and fired it on goal from the point. Lehkonen got a stick on it to redirect past goalie Philipp Grubauer.

Colorado took that lead into the intermission, but it required a few big saves from Mackenzie Blackwood to keep it that way. The Kraken took control in the second period. Not only did they score three times, including a late power-play tally that put them up 3-2, but they were also strong on the penalty kill.

Seattle’s PK entered the game dead last in the NHL. But against the Avalanche, they killed off three penalties through two periods.

The only tally in the second period for the Avalanche came from Girard. His first of the season tied the score at 2-2 before Chandler Stephenson’s PP goal at 19:36.

Lane Lambert’s club hasn’t won a lot of games this year. But when leading after two periods, they were a perfect 7-0-0 before this game.

The Avs came out strong in the third and didn’t take long to find the back of the net. MacKinnon wired a shot that hit Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson and went in at 2:40. The game was tied 3-3.

At 6:59, Joel Kiviranta took a minor for tripping off a faceoff. The Kraken’s PP tested the Avs, but Blackwood, again, was up to the task. The Avs goaltender made a huge save on a net mouth scramble. After the whistle blew, the officials had determined that one of the Colorado defenders had covered the puck in the blue paint, resulting in an automatic penalty shot.

Unbelievable save by Blackwood on Beniers, then the #SeaKraken get awarded a penalty shot for Manson covering the puck in the crease. Eberle hits the post on the penalty shot. pic.twitter.com/1xmbGWh8fK

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) December 17, 2025

Jordan Eberle shot for Seattle but could not beat Blackwood. He closed the angle on Eberle’s shot, causing the forward to shoot it wide. That was Blackwood’s second penalty shot stop in three starts.

On the ensuing faceoff, Vince Dunn was called for tripping, and the power play wasted little time. Just nine seconds into the man advantage, Brock Nelson potted it home to make it 4-3. His 13th of the season came shortly after he got a one-on-one opportunity with Grubauer, but was stopped.

MacKinnon finished with two goals and an assist, and Valeri Nichushkin, Cale Makar, and Necas each finished with two helpers.

Good: Girard Heating Up Offensively

In terms of offensive production, Girard is starting to heat up, and its noticeable in his game. Girard’s second-period tally was his first of the year and his sixth point in 18 games. Four of those points have come in the last three games.

Girard is making pinches, and he’s moving the puck with more comfort and ease than even a week ago.

Bad: Letting the Kraken Hang Around

This might be grasping at straws. And I’ll admit, it is. But the Avs let a bad team hang around for too long. In the end, they got the two points, they won in regulation, and they have two days off before the next game. But the Kraken have struggled to score goals all year and managed to get three on the Avs.

That doesn’t even account for the many huge saves from Blackwood. He had at least two stops that were nearly sure-bet goals for the home team. And they also got a penalty shot that could’ve gotten by him.

The shots ended 37-37, which included 13 shots for Seattle in each of the last two periods.