DENVER — There were moments throughout this hard-fought contest against the defending Stanley Cup champions when the Seattle Kraken showed signs of “lapses” that coach Dave Hakstol warned had cost his team a couple of nights before.
While the Kraken led much of Friday night’s affair after early second-period goals by Jaden Schwartz and Jared McCann just 22 seconds apart, things appeared headed in a different direction when a third-period turnover led to a tying Avalanche marker. But then, out of nowhere in that final frame, Karson Kuhlman raced down the right side and muscled a puck past goalie Pavel Francouz to hand the Kraken a stunning, much needed 3-2 win after a struggling early season start that needed a boost.
Kuhlman had hulking Avalanche defender Kurtis MacDermid draped all over him but somehow got enough on the puck to fire it past Francouz to improve the Kraken’s record to 2-2-2.
