The first regular season Joel Kiviranta’s hat-trick will be unforgettable.

When the family first visited from Finland, they enjoyed watching their son lead the Colorado Avalanche to a huge 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. You could say it was an excellent Finnish performance before the holidays.

Aside from the Finland striker, it was an all-round great team performance that took advantage of an undermanned and weakened Kraken squad. This is how it happened!

First period

When Seattle arrived in Denver around 3 a.m. after playing the Vegas Golden Knights last night, the Avs had the lead. At one point, Colorado had a 9-1 shot advantage and was circling the visitors.

The top six’s chances were plentiful and eventually one had to break through. It came to the power play, where Cale Makar managed to pass the puck through everyone and take the lead.

While Colorado was unable to take advantage of the injured Joey Daccord on two other power plays, Seattle managed to convert. On just the third shot of the game, Jared McCann was left alone in front as the Avs watched the puck to score the equalizer on the way into space.

Second period

The octopus got a step ahead and seemed to have found its legs. Right from the face-off on the other circle, the newly signed Kaapo Kakko surprised everyone and put the guests in the lead.

But the lead in question only lasted 11 seconds. Nathan MacKinnon got confused and broke into the zone right after the faceoff in the neutral zone. Although he couldn’t finish his shot, Valeri Nichushkin equalized it straight away.

After the Avs took the lead all by themselves with a chance from Oliver Björkstrand that was stopped by Mackenzie Blackwood, it was the Kiviranta show. He scored his first goal of the evening in a 2-on-1 duel with Mikko Rantanen, whose saucer pass was brilliantly processed to take the lead.

Colorado had another appearance with Rantanen and Cale Makar in a 2-on-0 where Daccord showed the glove. They also had a power play that continued into the third where they were unable to increase the lead.

Third period

Seattle would come out on top, with Blackwood challenged by Ryker Evans and Jaden Schwartz. They hit the post and were each blocked on a breakaway. The home team also fended off a phantom tripping penalty from Sam Girard.

Kakko almost took the lead with his second goal of the night, but Blackwood did enough again. He finally got some help as Kiviranta completed his hat-trick with two empty goals and sent the fans home happy for the holidays.

Takeaways

Bow down, Kiviranta. His story is incredible. He was the hottest rookie in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and eliminated the same Avalanche team in Game 7 of the second round in 2020. He quickly fell back to earth and only became an Av when he joined two years ago earned a PTO. Keep in mind that he didn’t even make the team initially, but was instead signed via PTO to the AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He would then sign an NHL contract and hasn’t looked back. In 36 games this season, he now has 10 goals and two assists in his career year. And we’re not even halfway through the season yet. If he continues to have hot streaks instead of cold ones, his value in the bottom six will be immeasurable. It’s what wins teams’ hockey games, and it helped Colorado win three straight before the holidays.

In addition to Kiviranta, the usual suspects also played a role. MacKinnon and Rantanen had a night with two points and two assists each, and Makar has a five-game point streak with two goals and six assists during that time. Nichushkin continued his winning streak in the short amount of time he spent with the team this season. Blackwood was brilliant, especially in the third period when the team in front of him faltered for a few moments. Plus, special teams did their part tonight and are slowly coming together, which is what’s made this current three-game run so good.

In early December, the Avs struggled with numerous injuries and continued to teeter on the edge of a playoff spot. Heading into this five-day Christmas break, Colorado is now on firmer footing, sitting comfortably in third place in the Central Division with 42 points. While the Dallas Stars have four games in hand, they are also four points behind the Avalanche with 38 points. You could say it’s too early to address playoff positioning. However, given Colorado’s struggles early in the season, this is a great starting point with a record of 21-15-0. They need to keep picking up points along the way and if things go well they could be fighting for the top two spots. They are currently just two points behind the Minnesota Wild (34GP, 44P) and seven points behind the Winnipeg Jets (35GP, 49P).

Soon

Following the five-day holiday break, the Avalanche will travel across the Rocky Mountains for a short away game to face the Utah Hockey Club on December 27th. Puck Drop will be available for everyone to watch on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. MT.