Avs Kraken Game 4

SEATTLE — Sticks lay slipshod on the sheet of ice that had just tilted in the one way that seemed impossible before this.

All hockey equipment was neglected with no time remaining in the first period. Evading the forgotten twigs, skaters divided into three separate shoving matches within 20 feet of one another. A series that seemed tame into the second game and regularly chippy through three had finally crossed the line.

The player who pushed it across was sitting on the bench, miraculously, Cale Makar.

The Avalanche fell 3-2 to the Kraken in a Game 4 overtime thriller Monday night in the Pacific Northwest. Jordan Eberle delivered the game-winning goal, lifting the puck over Alexandar Georgiev’s right shoulder to net a power play tally and send Climate Pledge Arena into a frenzy.

Josh Manson was whistled for tripping 1:59 into the extra frame to set up the man advantage.

The series is now tied after a clash that might have transformed this matchup into a rivalry that will transcend one postseason. Makar, generally reputed for his likeability throughout the NHL, knocked Kraken leading scorer Jared McCann out of the game with a first-period hit against the end boards, instantly turning whatever’s left of this first-round series contentious.

The next chapter will be played Wednesday back at Ball Arena.

Makar was jeered every time he touched the puck and the Avs seemingly wilted under the hostile pressure, until they suddenly thrived on it. For the second time this series, they trailed 2-0 at first intermission, and for the second time, they were knotted 2-2 at second intermission. Mikko Rantanen scored twice, including a game-tying rocket with 50 seconds remaining in the second period that snapped Colorado’s 0-for-8 power play drought to start the series.

The Avalanche’s top unit went to the bench at its regularly scheduled time, but Rantanen stayed on the ice with the second unit and danced around the right faceoff circle with and without the puck, until his chance finally arrived with two ticks left on the power play.

More drama infuriated the Seattle fans with 8:56 remaining in the third period, when Eberle thought he jammed in the go-ahead goal. After Georgiev initially sealed the post with his left leg, a pile of bodies grew and the puck squirted out the other side. Replay revealed it crossed the line by a hair and slid under the netting — but after officials had blown the whistle, ruling Georgiev sufficiently covered the puck.

The game’s other controversy also transpired after play was dead. McCann, who scored 40 goals in the regular season, nearly struck on a short-handed breakaway for Seattle. But after Georgiev’s save deflected out of play, Makar kept skating. He checked an unsuspecting McCann into the boards, and McCann had to be helped off the ice as officials reduced Makar’s interference penalty from a major to a two-minute minor.

The Kraken scored on the ensuing power play, rounding out a lopsided first period that was played almost exclusively in Colorado’s defensive zone. The Kraken outshot the Avalanche 7-0 in the first two minutes, 18-8 in the first period, 26-9 after 29 minutes and 30-14 after two periods.

Seattle has scored first in all four games, and all four opening goals have come in the first 10 minutes of the game.

By the end of the opening period, it was no holds barred hockey. Artturi Lehkonen, Logan O’Connor and Seattle’s Vince Dunn all started the second stanza in the box for their extracurriculars after the horn. Scrums erupted after every dead puck. At one point 10 seconds after a whistle, Dunn skated up behind a helmet-less Evan Rodrigues and shoved him to the ice from behind, escaping with no call.

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