Commentary: Kraken fans rise to occasion in Seattle’s NHL playoff debut, but Avalanche quiet roar

It was a party two years or a century-plus in the making, depending on how much of an homage one chooses to pay the Seattle Metropolitans. Suffice it to say the fans at Climate Pledge Arena arrived Saturday ready to bellow, and the Kraken provided them the requisite break-loose moment a mere six minutes into the game.

The roar was primal, the jubilation genuine, when Jaden Schwartz tipped home a shot from the point by Justin Schultz to become an instant trivia answer: First home playoff goal in Seattle Kraken history.

The night would end in ultimate disappointment for the Kraken – spiced by more short-lived euphoria – but at that moment, every manner of glory and triumph seemed possible.

“We were loose, we were prepared, we were ready for this one, no question,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “I love their start tonight. Love the atmosphere. Love the feel of the building. That’s a playoff feel. That’s what it is. That part of it was awesome. We didn’t complete the first period. … Our start was tremendous. It has a real different look if we complete the first period in a different way.”

Before the game, Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke had taken the mike and exhorted the crowd to “blow the roof off this joint.” As the press-box shook in the euphoric aftermath of Schwartz’s goal, it seemed for a flash they might be taking him literally. Thinking back to the Mariners’ drought-breaking home playoff game in October, when fans came with the same thirst but waited in vain for 18 innings and nearly five hours for a cathartic yell that never came, it was a made-for-memories moment.

But then reality hit, and the memories of this game for posterity seemed headed for bittersweet, bordering on sour. The Colorado Avalanche, who have the pedigree and pride of a defending Stanley Cup champion, responded with the same ferocity as they had Thursday in Denver. On that occasion they turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 victory. This time, they again scored three unanswered goals – one of them short-handed – to mute the giddiness at Climate Pledge.

But only temporarily, it turned out. In a 19-second flurry that will long live in Kraken lore (though not as vividly as it would if accompanied by a victory) Seattle rode spectacular second-period goals by Jamie Oleksiak and Matty Beniers to pull into a 3-3 tie. It ignited a crowd reaction that made the earlier one seem tepid by comparison, the sort of cosmic, guttural roar that only sports can provide.

“It was pretty insane after those two goals when we tied it up,” Beniers said.

“I mean, the fans were fantastic,” Oleksiak added. “I’m sure you guys heard it, especially in the second period there. At the end of the second we had a lot of momentum. The guys were playing hard and playing well. We’ve just got to feed off of that for a full 60. That was a great atmosphere tonight.”

When the score was still tied at the end of the second period, it set up the kind of furious finish of which we’d all heard reverent tales when it came to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but hadn’t had the opportunity to witness in person.

Until now. And it was instructive to learn that all the fuss was not oversold. On a day (and night) in which Seattle was alive with a smorgasbord of sports – a confluence of Mariners baseball, Reign and Sounders soccer, University of Washington spring football and softball, for starters – Climate Pledge became the epicenter.

But once again, anticlimax reared its ugly head, dousing the enthusiasm one final time. Unveiling a “Let’s Go Kraken” tifo as the third period started, the fans were towel-waving dervishes, poised for the biggest outburst of them all.

It was not to be. In a two-goal flurry of their own, 88 seconds apart in the third period, the Avalanche took control of the game once and for all. Their 6-4 victory (including an empty-net goal by the Avs in the final minutes and a too-late Kraken goal with 39.5 seconds remaining) gives Colorado a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of seven series.

When Game 4 commences Monday, with the new-playoff smell having worn off, it will be as close to a must-win scenario for the Kraken as you can have when, well, a loss doesn’t truly end your season. But you’d be able to see the end from there.

The Kraken now must have the same sort of reckoning the Avalanche apparently did after the first period of Game 2. Who knows what sort of airing out took place in the confines of their locker room, but from that point forward, Colorado played with renewed intensity.

The passion of the NHL playoffs is truly an astounding thing to behold. The level of ferocious contact that is tolerated is mind-boggling. But all that is ancillary now. The Kraken need to relocate their formula for victory – which will involve solving their power-play stupor – or this glorious adventure for Seattle will be short-lived.