Defending NHL champions Colorado Avalanche suffer a shock elimination at the hands of the Seattle Kraken in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Sunday.

Defending NHL champions Colorado Avalanche suffered a shock elimination at the hands of the Seattle Kraken in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Sunday.

Jared Bednar's side, who defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Stanley Cup for the third time last year, went down 2-1 on the night to fall to a 4-3 series defeat in the Western Conference path.

The Kraken's Danish forward Oliver Bjorkstrand's notched a double in the second period, before Mikko Rantanen pulled one back for the holders to make things interesting.

However, an inspired performance from Kraken goal tender Philipp Grubauer - who made 33 stops from 34 shots he faced - played its part in a scoreless third period as the Avalanche bowed out early.

The Seattle outfit, who were only founded in 2021, have now made history as the first-ever expansion team to defeat the reigning NHL champions in their maiden playoff appearance.

A second-round affair with the Dallas Stars now awaits the Kraken, and there was another upset in the Eastern Conference playoffs, as the Boston Bruins - who won the Presidents' Trophy with a record-breaking 135 regular-season points - lost 4-3 overall to the Florida Panthers.

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