SEATTLE (AP) — Cale Makar had two goals and an assist, Andre Burakovsky scored two power-play goals and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Seattle Kraken 7-3 on Friday night.
Darcy Kuemper had 25 saves and the Avalanche’s Nazem Kadri extended his points streak to eight games with two assists. Colorado won its fourth straight game, has outscored their opponents 24-7 during that streak and are 6-1-1 in their last eight.
Jordan Eberle, Brandon Tanev and Colin Blackwell scored for the Kraken, which lost their sixth straight and seven of eight. Chris Dreidger made his second start in goal for the Kraken, but he looked uncomfortable from the start and allowed four goals on Colorado’s first 13 shots, bookended by Burakovsky’s power-play goals.
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol pulled Dreidger at 5:33 of the second period for Philipp Grubauer, who didn't fare much better, giving up three goals as the Avs built a 7-0 lead.
Hakstol announced Dreidger would start Friday morning over Grubauer, a finalist for the Veniza Trophy last year with the Avalanche. But, like his team, Grubauer struggled in his first month with Seattle with a 3.18 goals against average and a .877 save percentage.
The move did not spark the Kraken. Burakovsky got things rolling at 4:04 of the first period following Ryan Donato’s hooking minor. A few minutes later, two Kraken players collided on Seattle’s power play and Tyson Jost sent the loose puck ahead to Valeri Nichushkin, who beat Dreidger stick side on the breakaway at 6:39 for the Avs’ NHL-leading fourth shorthanded goal of the season.
Makar opened the scoring with an assist from Kadri at 3:01 of the second period and Burakovsky made it 4-0 with his second power play score at 5:33.
The Avs didn’t slow down, either: Makar scored his second goal at 12:48 from Darren Helm, and Erik Johnson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel added goals for the Avs.
NOTES: The Avs signed coach Jared Bednar to a two-year extension that runs through the 2023-24 season. ... Johnson’s goal gave him 62, moving him into a fourth-place tie with Rob Blake for most career goals for an Avs defenseman. … Eberle has scored a point in seven straight games. … With seven goals, Tanev has already matched his 2020-21 total. … Kuemper is 5-1 in his last six games.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: Hosts Ottawa on Monday.
Kraken: Hosts Washington on Sunday.
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