Suddenly, the 0-4-0 start is nothing but a mere memory. Despite not getting any of their injured forwards back, the Avalanche continued their winning ways on Tuesday, defeating the Seattle Kraken 3-2 on the road to extend their winning streak to three games. Devon Toews returned and was reunited with Cale Makar on the top pair. John Ludvig came back out of the lineup.
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For the second straight game, Justus Annunen got the nod in goal and was once again solid. He made 25 saves as the Avalanche outshot the Kraken 28-27 despite giving up the first six shots. Annunen has surrendered just three goals in two starts, settling down what began as drama in the crease through the first four games. Alexandar Georgiev again backed him up, leaving Kaapo Kahkonen on the healthy scratch list for the second straight game of the road trip.
The Avs had a depth piece step up and score twice before Nathan MacKinnon added an insurance tally on the power play late in the second period to give Colorado a multi-goal lead. Seattle’s second tally was scored with 3.5 seconds remaining in the third period.
Good: Joel Kiviranta
Oftentimes, a depth player steps up and has the type of game that could charge a team to victory on the road. Even a team like the Avalanche — one loaded with superstars — needs a game like that here and there. And luckily for head coach Jared Bednar’s group, the team got that type of performance from a fourth liner.
A week ago it seemed like the superstars were the only ones contributing. With so many top-six pieces missing, the load being carried by Mikko Rantanen and MacKinnon seemed too much at times. Enter: Joel Kiviranta.
The second-year Avs forward came up huge, scoring the opening goal and again after the Kraken tied it up at 1-1. On his first tally, Kiviranta received an outlet pass from Sam Malinski in the neutral zone and wired it off the post and in from just above the circles. Goalie Philipp Grubauer was somewhat screened by his own defenseman Brandon Montour in the process.
On the second shot, Kiviranta parked himself in the crease and somehow was not challenged by either Kraken defenseman. Cale Makar fired the puck on goal from the wall and Kiviranta redirected it past Grubauer for his second of the night and third in three periods.
The 28-year-old often gets lost in the shuffle when I write up line combinations for Colorado. On one hand, he’s provided stability for the team’s bottom six for two seasons. And in the playoffs last year, he did an admirable job filling in for Logan O’Connor on the third line. But on the other hand, he’s usually slotted in as the 13th or sometimes 14th forward if or when the team is fully healthy. Which, let’s face it, is going to be hard to accomplish. But even if it does, Kiviranta shouldn’t be forgotten — especially when you consider the style of game he plays in the playoffs. Tonight was a reminder of how big a depth piece like that could be.
In 270 regular season and playoff games combined, Joel Kiviranta has scored more than 1 goal only twice.
Tonight is the second time.
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— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) October 23, 2024
Bad: The Avs’ start
After getting outplayed in the final two periods in San Jose, Colorado seemed to be on track for that pattern to continue. Seattle came out strong to start and put six shots on Justus Annunen before the game reached the three-minute mark. The Avs were also saved by two posts behind Annunen. But whether it was the luck of the iron or a strong showing from Annunen to keep the Kraken off the board, they managed to withstand the early onslaught and settled things down for the remainder of the period. And late in the frame, Kiviranta got his first tally.
