Kiviranta's hat trick helps Avalanche hand Kraken 5th straight loss

DENVER (AP) — Joel Kiviranta scored three goals, including twice into an empty net, Nathan MacKinnon notched his third straight two-assist game and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Sunday night.

Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar also added goals to propel Colorado to a third straight win. In addition to MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Makar had two assists as the Avalanche swept the three-game season series with the Kraken. Kiviranta wrapped up the win with a pair of late empty-net scores. It was his first regular-season hat trick.

Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 17 shots, improving to 3-1 since the Avalanche traded for him in a deal that sent Alexandar Georgiev to San Jose.

The Kraken looked lethargic in the first period a day after a 6-2 loss at Vegas. But they found energy throughout the game, grabbing a momentary lead in the second period before goals from Nichushkin and Kiviranta.

Jared McCann and Kaapo Kakko had goals for the Seattle, which has dropped five in a row. Joey Daccord made 24 saves.

Takeaways

Kraken: Kakko scored his first goal in his third game with Seattle after being acquired on Dec. 18 in a deal with the New York Rangers.

Avalanche: Colorado weathered the only penalty they committed. They've now killed 14 consecutive penalties.

Key moment

Nichushkin scored 11 seconds after Kakko's goal gave Seattle a 2-1 lead in the second period. Only two other times this season have both teams combined for faster goals, according to NHL Stats.

Key stats

Makar, Rantanen and MacKinnon combined on the same goal for the 10th time this season. It’s the most among all trios in the league.

Up next

Following the holiday break, Colorado is at Utah on Friday, while Seattle plays in Vancouver on Saturday.

___

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL