Kraken make historic strides with Western 1st-Round series win

DENVER -- When the Seattle Kraken upset the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference First Round, defeating the defending Stanley Cup champions 2-1 in Game 7 at Ball Arena on Sunday, they proved something to everyone sleeping on Seattle.

"Incredible," goalie Philipp Grubauer said after making 33 saves. "It means a lot to the organization and this team. And obviously for the people that have written us off early in the season or since the start, yeah, here we are."

Here they are in the second round, playing the Dallas Stars in Game 1 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

On the surface, this was stunning.

After finishing 30th in the NHL in their inaugural season, the Kraken made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, earning the first wild card in the West. Never had a team earned its first playoff series win by defeating a defending champion. Well, Seattle became the first.

The Kraken scored first in each of the seven games, won three of the four games in Denver and never panicked in a seesaw series, taking a 1-0 lead, falling behind 2-1, taking a 3-2 lead, and coming back from a 4-1 loss in Game 6 to win Game 7.

They had 15 players score without getting a goal from forward Jared McCann, who led them with 40 goals in the regular season, or forward Andre Burakovsky, who scored 13 goals in the regular season. McCann (upper body) didn't play after Game 4. Burakovsky (lower body) hasn't played since Feb. 7.

"I think it says it all about our team," forward Oliver Bjorkstrand said after scoring twice. "It's just depth. Every line can score on any given night -- defensemen, forwards, whatever. It's how we have success as a team. It's something we've got to keep striving for."

Yep. Look under the surface, and this wasn't as big of a surprise.

Whatever happened last season, this was a 100-point team this season. The Kraken went 2-0-1 against the Avalanche in the regular season, including 2-0-0 in Denver. They had plenty of playoff experience on the roster, including experience in Game 7 situations.

They had 13 players score 13 goals or more and averaged 3.52 goals per game, tied for fourth in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils.

"It's huge, but we've shown it all year that we can play with the best, we can beat the best," Grubauer said. "Obviously, when you look at the regular-season games (against the Avalanche), they were pretty tight and pretty even, so nobody on our side thought they were going to sweep us in four games."

RELATED: [Complete Avalanche vs. Kraken series coverage]

The Kraken were simply the better team for large portions of this series, taking it to the Avalanche. They were aggressive on the forecheck and took away the middle of the ice defensively.

"I think they're highly competitive, as competitive as any team we've played," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "Everyone's talked about their depth all year, but I agree with it. It's a deep team.

"Every line plays the same, very structured. [Coach Dave Hakstol has] got them playing the way they have to play to have success. I thought Grubauer was outstanding in the series. They've got good goaltending, strong, physical [defensemen] that make it hard on you to create chances."

You must respect the fact the Avalanche were not the same team they were last season, thanks to departures, injuries and absences.

You must respect the parity of the League. The Kraken upset the Avalanche the same day the Florida Panthers upset the Boston Bruins, who set the NHL records for both wins (65) and points (135). The Panthers weren't quite the underdogs they appeared, either. Last season, they were the ones who won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team.

Bednar said it wouldn't have surprised him if any series went the other way.

"You've got to play your best hockey in order to win the series," Bednar said. "We played hard. We didn't play our best for seven games."

But mostly, you must respect the Kraken.

"It's amazing," forward Yanni Gourde said. "It's a great feeling. So proud of this group. We battled so hard, especially in our second year in this League.

"Just making the playoffs is an accomplishment. We battled so hard all year long. But getting the win here in Game 7 showed how much character, how much care we have for one another, how much belief we have in this locker room, in this group."

The Kraken have experienced several firsts over the past two weeks, including their first Game 7 win. Now they get their first trip to the second round.

Who knows what else is to come?

"I want our guys to enjoy this, and they should," Hakstol said. "We know it's going to be a quick turnaround, but we'll get to that tomorrow. Enjoy the work that they put in. Enjoy the success. We'll regroup and we'll get our foot back on the gas."