New York. Defending champion Colorado was eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
They lost, slightly shockingly, Game 7 tonight against the contenders Seattle Kraken at home in Denver.
– An absolutely incredible feeling, Alex Weinberg, Sweden’s Kraken midfielder, told Sportbladet after the decisive 2-1 victory.
It really was a great night in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
First, the dominant series-winning Boston Bruins lost their seventh game against the Florida Panthers at home at the TD Garden — then it was the turn of the World Champion Colorado Avalanche to the CoD. sin Game 7 against last year’s expansion team the Seattle Kraken at the ballpark.
Just as in previous games, the Avs stars, especially Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, hurled shots into the penalty area, but once again had massive problems getting a hole on former teammate Phillipp Grubauer.
Instead, Dane Oliver Björkstrand scored two impressive goals in the second half – one of them assisted by Adam Larsson – and that was enough for the contextual newcomers, who are a real side in the truest sense of the word, to finally win their first playoff series.
“The whole team had a belief that we could win, and it’s an absolutely incredible feeling that we did,” says Alex Weinberg when we got to him after a short but joyful victory party in the dressing room.
It may not have been our best match, but we showed that we can win when it matters most.
For the Avalanche, it is of course frustrating to take a chance on a title defense at once.
– Yeah, that sucks, says back-to-back star Cal Makar.
For the Kraken, the sweet adventure continues into the first spring with a series against the heavyweights, the Dallas Stars.
– It’s just a matter of gathering strength and doing it again, notes Alex Weinberg.
