DENVER — Throw out the regular-season records -- this is the postseason.
The Colorado Avalanche, who currently defend the Stanley Cup and are the Central Division champions, got a dose of reality Tuesday night when the visiting Seattle Kraken dealt them a 3-1 loss in front of their home crowd at Ball Arena.
It was a wake-up call for the Avs, who never led in Game 1, that the road to a repeat title won't be easy.
"We've seen it now," head coach Jared Bednar said. "We have to go and we have to be better than we were tonight...You have to expect to play your best hockey if you want to win."
Seattle's Eeli Tolvanen set the tone early, scoring just 3:26 into the game.
Colorado responded with a goal from its star line as Nathan MacKinnon set up Mikko Rantanen for the equalizer later in the period.
The Kraken, however, responded with a goal in the second period from Alex Wennberg and another in the third via Morgan Geekie.
Seattle takes an early 1-0 series lead on Colorado as Game 2 is set to begin Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
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