Avs’ Cale Makar becomes Seattle Kraken playoff villain with nasty hit

After a comparatively respectable first three video games, the gloves are formally off within the first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs sequence between the Seattle Kraken and Colorado Avalanche.

The Kraken misplaced main scorer Jared McCann within the first interval of Sport 4 at Local weather Pledge Enviornment after star Colorado defenseman Cale Makar leveled him with a nasty hit following McCann’s short-handed shot on purpose.

Watch Makar’s hit on McCann: First angle | Second angle

After McCann’s shot fired off Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, McCann skated in direction of the nook to circle round. He by no means noticed Makar coming – not ought to he have with the puck nowhere close to them – as his head was smashed into the boards. McCann went down instantly and spent over a minute hunched over on the ice whereas being attended to. When he got here off the ice, he clearly didn’t look to be in fine condition.

Makar was initially assessed a serious penalty for interference, but it surely was modified to a minor penalty after a evaluation, which was met with resounding boos from the house crowd.

A budget shot instantly drew the ire of Seattle Kraken followers, who started booing Makar every time he touched the puck for the rest of the primary interval (and that’s prone to proceed for at the least the remainder of the sport).

Whereas the Kraken gamers didn’t retaliate within the interval, there have been a lot of skirmishes each earlier than and after Makar’s hit, together with because the horn sounded to finish the primary. Seattle’s feisty Yanni Gourde even drew chants of “Yanni, Yanni” from the group throughout that period-ending change. Seattle additionally received the perfect revenge by making good on the penalty play that Makar’s hit afforded them, with Daniel Sprong scoring off an help from Justin Schultz for the Kraken’s first power-play purpose of the sequence, pushing Seattle’s lead within the sport to 2-0.

Makar didn’t even ship the primary questionable hit of the sport by Colorado. Matt Nieto took an early penalty for boarding Seattle’s Jordan Eberle not even 90 seconds into the sport.

The Kraken path the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche two video games to 1, and they should win Monday night time or Wednesday when the sequence shifts again to Denver for Sport 5 to ensure yet one more residence playoff sport, which might be Sport 6 on Friday.

Extra on the Seattle Kraken

• TNT’s Faust: Seattle Kraken ‘have the inspiration already’ for title runs
• ESPN’s Linda Cohn: Kraken proved to Avs ‘they imply enterprise,’ so what’s subsequent?
• Forslund: Avalanche appear ‘agitated’ by Kraken, and that’s good
• Fann: Seattle Kraken have prime alternative to show informal followers into diehards

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