SEATTLE — Never before had a hockey team earned its first playoff series win by defeating a defending Stanley Cup champion.
The Seattle Kraken is now that team.
Yes, the Colorado Avalanche were without several key players from last year's championship squad, but it's an impressive feat nonetheless, especially considering the second-year franchise finished 30th in the overall standings a year ago.
And Seattle did it with a full team effort, with 15 players scoring goals in the series.
What's more, Oliver Bjorkstrand was the Game 7 hero with two goals in the series clincher. Those were his first two goals of the series, and it put him in a tie for the team lead with Jaden Schwartz and Morgan Geekie.
"I think it says it all about our team," Bjorkstrand said after the game, per NHL.com. "It's just depth. Every line can score on any given night -- defensemen, forwards, whatever. It's how we have success as a team. It's something we've got to keep striving for."
Philipp Grubauer also came up huge for the Kraken. The former Avalanche goalie upped his game in the playoffs with a .926 save percentage, well above the .895 he recorded during the regular season.
It was also Seattle's first ever Game 7, and head coach Dave Hakstol believes it's something to celebrate, even with a second-round series against the Dallas Stars set to begin in short order.
"I want our guys to enjoy this, and they should," Hakstol said. "We know it's going to be a quick turnaround, but we'll get to that tomorrow. Enjoy the work that they put in. Enjoy the success. We'll regroup and we'll get our foot back on the gas."