Avalanche begin Cup defense against playoff newcomer Kraken

DENVER (AP) — Mikko Rantanen has a ton of playoff superstitions.

“But I’m not going to go into them,” the Colorado Avalanche forward cautioned.

You know, because he’s superstitious. And because he doesn't want to jinx things since they worked so well last season.

Rantanen and the Avalanche are trying to join the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins on the list of teams that have captured back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in the salary cap era (circa: 2005).

They know all too well the long road that awaits. The grind. The toll. A shorter offseason should all go well.

Worth it, of course.

Won’t be easy, though, especially with captain Gabriel Landeskog sidelined by a lingering knee injury that's kept him out all season.

Also, there's this: "A target on your back,” said Rantanen, whose squad kicks off their title defense Tuesday in a first-round series against a second-year franchise in the Seattle Kraken. “But we feel good. Our energy levels feel good. We’re not tired. We’re ready to play for hopefully two months. That’s our goal.”

It was an injury-riddled regular season for the Avalanche after hoisting their third Cup in franchise history last June. The team used 43 different players this season, which is the most since the franchise moved to town before the 1995-96 season.

“Obviously, we’re not the same team (as last season), but we’re very similar,” said defenseman Josh Manson, who was limited to 27 games this season due to injuries. “Are we going to win the same way and with the same type of style? I’m not sure. We’ll see as we go here.

"But I don’t think that means that we doubt the room just because we’re different than last year. We’re going to have to play to our style and with confidence.”

Leading the way on offense for Colorado will be the duo of Nathan MacKinnon (111 points) and Rantanen (105). They're the first Avalanche teammates to surpass 100 points in the same season since Peter Forsberg (116) and Joe Sakic (120) in 1995-96.

“With Landy being gone, we’ve got to step up even more,” said Rantanen, who scored an Avalanche-best 55 goals this season.

Colorado draws a Kraken team that's made immense improvement this season. They notched 19 more wins and 40 more points in Year 2.

“We’re not going to change a whole lot,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We’ve got to be the best version of ourselves."

This may be the first time the Kraken venture into the postseason, but they do have a significant amount of playoff experience on their roster. Yanni Gourde, Justin Schultz, Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz have won Stanley Cup crowns. Goaltenders Philipp Grubauer and Martin Jones, too. Jordan Eberle has 62 career playoff games under his belt.

“Short-term memory,” Dunn said of what he's learned about playing successful postseason hockey. “If you have a (bad) shift forget about it, move on, find a way to fix it. Don’t go for home runs every shift. Just chip away at it, trust the system.”

BACKUPS TO BIG ROLES

Grubauer and Colorado's Alexandar Georgiev have this in common — both were given a chance to be the undisputed main goaltender in Colorado.

Grubauer was brought in from Washington and won 66 games with Colorado over three regular seasons before moving on to Seattle. Georgiev was a backup to Igor Shesterkin in New York with the Rangers before the Avalanche acquired him in a trade last July. His 40 wins matched Patrick Roy (2000-01) for the second-most in a season in Avalanche history.

“Both (Grubauer and Georgiev) wanted that opportunity to show they can be that sort of carry-the-mail type,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said.

FORMIDABLE FOE

A franchise making its postseason debut against a defending Stanley Cup champion doesn't happen all that often. This will mark the fifth time in league history, with the Kraken joining Columbus (2009 against Detroit), Washington (1983 versus the New York Islanders), Hartford (1980 against Montreal) and the New York Americans (1929 against the New York Rangers), according to NHL Stats.

THE METROPOLITANS

On Saturday, the Kraken will host their first playoff game. But Seattle was once home to the Seattle Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The team played the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup in 1919. Both won two — and tied another — in a series that was halted by the influenza epidemic, according to NHL research.

REIGNING MVP

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has dealt with his share of injuries this season. But the MVP of the playoffs last season is confident he will be on the ice Tuesday despite missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury.

“I’m as close (to 100%) as I can be right now,” Makar said.

He had eight goals and 21 assists in last season's Cup run.

NHL Playoffs: Eichel, Hughes among the top players to watch

The NHL playoffs are going on without Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin for the first time since their rookie year in 2006, but that doesn’t mean the chase for the Stanley Cup isn’t packed with star power.

Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche are trying to go back to back. Connor McDavid is determined to win his first championship with the Edmonton Oilers.

And there are a handful of players in the postseason as professionals for the first time. New Jersey’s Jack Hughes and Vegas’ Jack Eichel are ready to make an impact at the time of the year when hockey matters the most.

Here are the top players to watch:

CONNOR MCDAVID

The league leader in goals and points and a shoo-in for the Hart Trophy as MVP, McDavid has done just about everything a player can in the regular season and repeatedly said he doesn't care about individual honors.

"Connor McDavid definitively is better than anybody in the league," former goaltender and current ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes said.

McDavid carried Edmonton to the Western Conference final last year, a sweep at the hands of the Avalanche and now the Oilers can defend and go into the playoffs having won 14 of their last 15. Much like MacKinnon hulked out to get the Avalanche over the hump in 2022, McDavid could have that kind of beast mode in store this spring.

NATHAN MACKINNON

Welcome back, Nate. Cale Makar was the playoff MVP on Colorado's Cup run, but MacKinnon is the heart, soul and engine for the Avalanche, who again won the Central Division for home ice through two rounds.

MacKinnon is coming off his first career 100-point regular season, and with captain Gabriel Landeskog out for the entire playoffs with a knee injury, his teammates will need similar production to get through the West. Avalanche players won't get complacent after winning last year if they take one look at MacKinnon.

DAVID PASTRNAK

The only other 60-goal scorer this season besides McDavid, Pastrnak had 46 more points than the next closest Boston teammate. If the Bruins are going to go on a run, they'll be counting on Pastrnak to keep filling the net.

Every indication is he'll do just that, starting against Alex Lyon and the Panthers in the first round. Unlike many of Boston's other, older players, Pastrnak hasn't yet turned 27 and might just be getting started.

JACK HUGHES

As brother and teammate Luke Hughes said, Jack and the Devils have been waiting years for the chance to play in the postseason. Hughes put up 99 points in leading New Jersey to a franchise-record 52 wins.

Retired defenseman Ken Daneyko, whose No. 3 is retired by the Devils, is impressed by what he has seen in Hughes — “He's become a star in the league” — and also expects this to be a learning curve.

“He wants to be the go-to guy, and that’s easier said than done when you’re a young, 21-year-old kid,” said Daneyko, who's an NHL Network analyst. “This is going to be new. This is going to be an experience and a lesson during the playoffs.”

JACK EICHEL

In the playoffs for the first time in his first full season with the Golden Knights, it's Eichel's time to show what he can do. The 2015 No. 2 pick behind McDavid is 17 months removed from artificial disk replacement surgery and is one of the biggest reasons Vegas won the Pacific Division and clinched home-ice advantage through the Western Conference playoffs.

“He’s gone through so much,” retired forward and TNT analyst Anson Carter said. “He looks like he’s healthy again. This is the chance for him to play on the big stage.”

JAKE OETTINGER

The Dallas Stars are no underdog this time, unlike last year when Oettinger stopped 272 of 285 shots in a first-round loss to Calgary that went the distance, including 64 saves in a Game 7 overtime loss.

“It is the best hockey I've ever played,” Oettinger said about that series. “Playoffs, obviously everyone’s watching it like it’s a great opportunity to step up big time for the team.”

Dallas doesn't need to lean only on Oettinger, not with top scorer Jason Robertson leading the way offensively and Miro Heiskanen being a rock on defense. But Oettinger has the potential to put the Stars on his back with saves high in quality and volume.