Seattle Kraken (46-28-8, fourth in the Pacific Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (51-24-7, first in the Central Division)
Denver; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
NHL playoffs first round: Series tied 2-2
Bottom line: The Colorado Avalanche and the Seattle Kraken are in a 2-2 series tie in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. The teams meet Wednesday for the eighth time this season. The Kraken won 3-2 in overtime in the previous matchup.
Colorado has gone 23-14-6 in home games and 51-24-7 overall. The Avalanche are 22-10-2 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent.
Seattle has a 46-28-8 record overall and a 27-12-4 record in road games. The Kraken have gone 20-8-3 in games they score at least one power-play goal.
Top performers: Mikko Rantanen has 55 goals and 50 assists for the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon has eight goals and seven assists over the past 10 games.
Vince Dunn has 14 goals and 50 assists for the Kraken. Matthew Beniers has scored four goals and added one assist over the past 10 games.
Last 10 games: Avalanche: 7-1-2, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.1 assists, 3.5 penalties and eight penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
Kraken: 6-4-0, averaging 3.4 goals, 4.7 assists, four penalties and 9.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
Injuries: Avalanche: Jack Johnson: day to day (lower body), Darren Helm: day to day (undisclosed), Valeri Nichushkin: day to day (personal), Pavel Francouz: out (lower body), Gabriel Landeskog: out (knee).
Kraken: Joonas Donskoi: out (upper-body), John Hayden: out for season (lower body), Andre Burakovsky: out (lower-body).
