DENVER — Tye Kartye scored in his NHL debut and the Seattle Kraken moved a win away from clinching their first playoff series after beating the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Wednesday night.
The Kraken take a 3-2 lead in the first-round series back home to Seattle, where they can advance Friday night in front of their raucous home fans.
Yanni Gourde and Morgan Geekie added goals for the Kraken, who’ve scored first in all five games. Philipp Grubauer stopped 26 shots against his former team.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and Evan Rodrigues added another to make it 3-2 with 3:37 remaining, but the Avs couldn’t tie it up.
The Kraken were without forward Jared McCann, who was injured on a hit from Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar in Game 4. Makar could only watch as he drew a one-game suspension from the league. Makar was last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP.
Alexandar Georgiev had 26 stops for Colorado.
Kartye became the eighth player since 1927 to notch a goal while making his NHL debut in the playoffs, according to NHL Stats. Before Kartye, the last to accomplish the feat was Makar in Game 3 of a first-round series in 2019.
Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer stops the puck during the first period of Game 5 of the team’s NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Denver. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
The goal by Kartye gave the Kraken a 2-1 lead in the second period and came moments after MacKinnon clipped skates with Will Borgen. MacKinnon was livid, too, and banged his stick on the glass as the Kraken headed down the ice. Jordan Eberle delivered a pinpoint pass to Kartye, who made it a memorable night.
Kartye, who turns 22 on Sunday, had 28 goals and 29 assists this season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL.
MacKinnon’s goal in the second period tied the game at 1. It was career playoff point No. 98 for MacKinnon, which moved him just two away…
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