2023-05-01 12:09:26
“I’m ready and done!” Those were Philipp Grubauer’s first words when he came off the ice; and who might blame the German goalie from Seattle Kraken for gasping and apologizing for missing a few English words following such an intense game? His side had just won the crucial seventh game in the first round of the NHL playoffs once morest defending champions Colorado Avalanche, and to say that Grubauer was instrumental in that would be a massive understatement. More precise description: He was the Bavarian tree who didn’t mind Avalanche players rubbing once morest him – he saved 213 shots in total in the series, his save rate in that last game: 97.1 percent.
When this game got hectic at the end – Colorado was denied the supposed equalizer in the final third – the native of Rosenheim was the rock in the middle of several avalanches (attention, translation pun with the Colorado team nickname Avalanche) rolling towards him. He not only annoyed the highly favored opponent with brilliant saves, but above all with a calmness that only Bayern can manage so calmly and confidently.
It always helps when someone who has experienced something like this himself can explain a splendid achievement like Grubauer’s. The goalkeeper legend Henrik Lundqvist, 20 years with the New York Rangers between the posts, took over on American TV. He put on extra pads and gloves to show people what makes Grubauer unique. Well, firstly: “He doesn’t stand knock-kneed like most goalkeepers, but puts his legs together – this allows him to slide more explosively to either side.” Grubauer leaves gaps on the sides with this position, Lundqvist says: “The gaps get bigger because he has his hands very close to his body.” Sounds dangerous and intuitively wrong; However, Grubauer does both consciously, because on the one hand he can react faster and on the other hand he is neither in a bad position nor unbalanced following a missed shot or defense. He can thus fend off several shots in a row.
What is needed for this strategy, according to Lundqvist: “calmness, patience and the certainty that you can do it.” So don’t force it, but trust your own special abilities. You can forgive the Swedish ice hockey legend for not knowing what a Bavarian tree is; Lundqvist called Grubauer “Square”, meaning a block; and he also called it “rock”, meaning a rock in the surf. Grubauer called himself “someone who, like everyone else in the team, does what the team needs without considering personal statistics”.
The Bruins surprisingly fail at the Florida Panthers
Seattle has thus promoted the defending champion from the playoffs, a huge surprise because Colorado was once more favored in the Western Conference. Leon Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers, who won the gripping series once morest the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, should now have this role; Draisaitl has scored seven goals and four passes in six games. The quarterfinals on Wednesday will take place once morest the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Seattle triumph, however, wasn’t the biggest surprise of the weekend or the first round of the playoffs: The Florida Panthers won the crucial seventh game at the Boston Bruins 4-3 in overtime following equalizing with less than a minute remaining in regulation time . The Bruins not only had the most wins (65) and points (135) in the league during the regular season – but in NHL history. But it’s like the 2016 Golden State Warriors, the basketball players with the record 73-9 game record: What good is a record like that if you don’t win a title? “I can’t describe how it feels right now,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery: “Disappointment and helplessness.”
The Stanley Cup Playoffs draw their fascination from the fact that things can sometimes go haywire – it helps when someone stands between the posts who combines the virtues of composure and patience and radiates the certainty that they can do it. “Oh, many people had already written us off at the beginning of the season,” said Grubauer regarding the first win in a playoff series in the Kraken’s only two-year history: “We grew from it together, it made us stronger.” Seattle meets the Dallas Stars in Tuesday’s second round; their striker Roope Hintz leads the playoff scorer list with twelve points (five goals, seven assists) ahead of Leon Draisaitl. Grubauer only said: “Go on – let’s go!”
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