Release the … well, you know the drill.Seattle Kraken fans are letting out a monstrous roar now that the NHL squad is about to start their first-ever playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Just making it this far is a major accomplishment for the franchise that’s only in its second season and finished at the bottom of the Pacific Division last year. How many two-year-olds mature so fast?

The Kraken's goals are set higher now, so let's prep your tentacles before the puck drops.

Going wild

The Kraken enter the playoffs as the top-seeded wild card team and will begin on the road, facing Colorado in a best-of-seven series. If our boys win four games against the Avalanche, they’ll advance to the next round — and will be only two more series wins away from the Stanley Cup Final, which begins Thursday, June 8.

Fun fact: a local club actually won that shiny championship trophy over a century ago. The Seattle Metropolitans defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the 1917 Stanley Cup Final, but only lasted seven more years as a franchise. Now, the Kraken will try to pick up the slack.

How to watch

Game one of the first-round series will air on ROOT Sports and ESPN. The Kraken play at least two home games — Saturday, April 22 and Monday, April 24. Tickets are already sold out for the Climate Pledge Arena contests, but if you want to watch with other fans, lively sports bar options include:

The Octopus Bar | Nautically themed dive with creative cocktails like the “Don’t Want No Scurvy” gimlet
The Angry Beaver | Seattle’s original hockey bar will likely be packed to the gills, so get there early.
Queen Anne Beerhall | The atmosphere will be raucous so close to the Kraken’s home ice.