DENVER — Minutes into Tuesday night’s historic Kraken playoff debut, feisty defenseman Will Borgen served notice his underdog team wasn’t just happy to be here.
Borgen laid a heavy hit along the side glass on Avalanche forward Arturri Lehkonen. The gauntlet had been thrown by the visiting challengers and continued to be throughout this 3-1 victory over the defending Cup champions, from the game’s very first goal to its final one.
That initial goal, moments after Borgen’s hit, came when Yanni Gourde pressured Avalanche defender Devon Toews into an errant behind-the-net clearance attempt right onto Eeli Tolvanen’s stick. The initial shot was stopped by Alexandar Georgiev, but Tolvanen quickly swatted home the rebound to stun the Ball Arena crowd just 3:26 in. And the final goal, with the Kraken up by one four minutes into the third, would come off another forced turnover when Alex Wennberg grabbed a loose puck behind Colorado’s net and fed it to Morgan Geekie for a one-timed strike from the slot.
