Last-minute goal pushes Kraken past Avalanche

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his second goal of the night with 31.6 seconds remaining, lifting the Seattle Kraken to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday in Denver.

Jaden Schwartz had a goal and an assist and Matt Beniers also scored for Seattle. Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn had two assists each, and Philipp Grubauer turned away 23 shots for the win.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Valeri Nichushkin and Bowen Byram had goals and Ivan Prosvetov made 20 saves for Colorado

Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen was taken to a local hospital after colliding with the Kraken's Jamie Oleksiak and going head first into the boards in the second period.

The game was tied late when Prosvetov made a save on an attempt by Eeli Tolvanen, but the rebound went to Bjorkstrand, who buried it for his sixth goal of the season.

Seattle got on the board late in the first period. Schwartz got a drop pass from Tye Kartye at the right circle and sent a shot to the far post that beat Prosvetov at 18:39.

It was Schwartz's seventh of the season.

The Kraken added to the lead early in the second period. Oleksiak passed it to Bjorkstrand in the slot, and his shot to the short side made it 2-0 at 4:29.

Colorado answered 28 seconds later when MacKinnon carried the puck into the offensive zone and passed it through the slot to Byram, who roofed a shot to cut the lead in half.

It was his third of the season.

Seattle responded when Beniers put a snap shot high to the far side at 11:35 of the second period for his first of the season.

MacKinnon made it a one-goal game again when he got a diagonal pass from Makar on the left side of the Kraken net and beat Grubauer with a shot to the short side at 15:40 of the middle period. It was his sixth of the season.

The game stayed 3-2 until the third period when Nichushkin, battling in front of the net, tipped a shot by Devon Toews past Grubauer at 12:15. It was his second of the season.