3 Keys: Avalanche at Kraken, Game 6 of Western 1st Round

(1C) Avalanche at (WC1) Kraken
Western Conference First Round, Game 6
Seattle leads best-of-7 series 3-2
10 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS, ROOT-NW, ALT

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Kraken can become the first team in NHL history to win their first Stanley Cup Playoff series by eliminating a defending Cup champion when they host the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at Climate Pledge Arena on Friday.
The Kraken, who joined the NHL as an expansion team last season, have won two straight games after the Avalanche took a 2-1 series lead.
"It's huge," Seattle center Yanni Gourde said. "Game 6 at home. Friday night in Seattle. I think the crowd is going to be pretty loud tonight, and we're super excited. We've got to stay focused, stay in control, stay focused and play the way we're capable of."
This series has lived up to its billing as a battle of depth vs. elite talent.
The Kraken have had 13 players score goals, none with more than two. The Avalanche have had eight players score goals; forward Mikko Rantanen has five, center Nathan MacKinnon has three and six others have one.
RELATED: [Complete Avalanche vs. Kraken series coverage]
Rantanen has eight points (four goals, four assists) in eight games facing elimination in his NHL career. MacKinnon has seven points (two goals, five assists) in nine games in this situation.
"We feel like we haven't played to our ability, capability, through the course of this series," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We've seen flashes of it, stints of it, but when it comes to full games, playing the way we need to play to have success with the lineup that we have, we haven't done that consistently enough."
Here are 3 keys for Game 6:

1. Makar's return

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar will be back in the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for interference on Kraken forward Jared McCann in Game 4.
Makar is the reigning winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted as the playoffs' most valuable player last season. He leads Colorado in average ice time (25:15) and has three points (one goal, two assists) in the series.
McCann, who led Seattle in goals (40) and points (70) during the regular season, will miss his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. There is no timeline for his return.
"I'm excited to get back at it [in Game 6] with the guys and hopefully provide a little bit of extra spark or energy, whatever we need," Makar said. "For me, it's just looking forward now and looking to enjoy the atmosphere in Seattle."
Kraken fans booed Makar each time he touched the puck after the hit.
"I don't think it's something that really affects me too much," Makar said. "I don't think I've ever been booed like that in my career, but it is what it is. You have to pay the price for what you did, and at the end of the day, I've got to put it in the background and move forward. Obviously, the atmosphere in Seattle is really cool. They're super loud, and it's awesome. I don't think it's going to add too much to that."

2. The start

The Kraken have scored first and drawn the first penalty in each game.
"The atmosphere is going to be absolutely electric tonight," Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn said. "It's probably going to be even louder than it always has been, and we need to use that to our advantage.
"I think our building is unique, and not a lot of teams tend to come out fast in our building, so continue the starts that we've had in this series. It's been to our advantage, and just focus on that."

3. Poise

The defending champs need to play with confidence.
"Just be calm and poised with the puck and make plays we've been making for five years now," MacKinnon said. "I think we're a little chaotic and maybe a little too cautious. Caution isn't always good offensively. I think getting Cale back is big for our team, obviously."

Avalanche projected lineup

Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Evan Rodrigues
Matt Nieto -- J.T. Compher -- Mikko Rantanen
Ben Meyers -- Lars Eller -- Denis Malgin
Andrew Cogliano -- Alex Newhook -- Logan O'Connor
Bowen Byram -- Cale Makar
Samuel Girard -- Devon Toews
Jack Johnson -- Erik Johnson
Alexandar Georgiev
Pavel Francouz
Scratched: Brad Hunt, Kurtis MacDermid, Keith Kinkaid, Valeri Nichushkin
Injured: Darren Helm (lower body), Gabriel Landeskog (knee), Josh Manson (lower body)

Kraken projected lineup

Tye Kartye -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz -- Alexander Wennberg -- Morgan Geekie
Eeli Tolvanen -- Yanni Gourde -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Brandon Tanev -- Ryan Donato -- Daniel Sprong
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Will Borgen
Carson Soucy -- Justin Schultz
Philipp Grubauer
Martin Jones
Scratched: Cale Fleury, Jaycob Megna, Jesper Froden, Chris Driedger
Injured: Andre Burakovsky (lower body), Joonas Donskoi (upper body), John Hayden (lower body), Jared McCann (undisclosed)

Status report

Manson, a defenseman, will not play after re-aggravating an injury in the second period of Game 5 that caused him to miss the final 23 games of the regular season. … Nichushkin, a forward who has missed three games for personal reasons, has no timetime to return, coach Jared Bednar said.
NHL.com independent correspondent Kevin Woodley contributed to this report