Despite strong performances: German NHL stars push start frustration

Thursday January 14, 2021

Despite strong performances
German NHL stars push start frustration

The Edmonton Oilers with the two very convincing national players Leon Draisaitl and Dominik Kahun start the new NHL season with a defeat. Even her colleague Philipp Grubauer cannot win with the Avalanche despite a strong performance at the start.

The national ice hockey players Leon Draisaitl, Dominik Kahun and Philipp Grubauer both suffered defeats at the start of the season in the NHL with their teams. The Edmonton Oilers around Draisaitl and Kahun lost 3: 5 (0: 1, 1: 1, 2: 3) against the Vancouver Canucks, Grubauer and the Colorado Avalanche lost to the St. Louis Blues 1: 4 (1: 2, 0: 0, 0: 2).

"I felt good. It's tough that we didn't get the points, but it was great to make my debut for the Oilers," said Kahun. "We also had a lot of chances to score. We have to fix our mistakes and do a better job tomorrow." The next test of strength with the Canucks will take place on Thursday.

For the NHL newcomer Tim Stützle, the season with the Ottawa Senators begins on Saturday night. Stützle made it straight into the squad and is considered a great hope for the team from the Canadian capital. On the day of the duel with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he will be 19 years old.

"Sure we can do better tomorrow"

His two compatriots were on the ice against the Canucks when Draisaitl scored his first scorer point of the season with an assist on Kailer Yamamoto. Kahun also had an assist, but too many mistakes in all areas robbed the Oilers of any chance of a good start. "I'm sure we can do better tomorrow," said goal scorer Adam Larsson. In the past season, Draisaitl was the top scorer in the strongest ice hockey league in the world and was also the first German to be voted the most valuable player. He wants to win the Stanley Cup with the Oilers.

Marc Michaels, however, was not on the ice for the Canucks. He didn't make it into the regular squad and is part of the team's taxi squad. The players there are provided as replacements if a team is severely affected by corona failures. National goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer played 60 minutes, parried 28 of the opponent's 32 shots.

A direct duel between the Avalanche and the Oilers can only take place in the playoffs. Because of the corona pandemic, the NHL has adjusted its game system and created new divisions. The Canadian teams only play against each other in the main round in order to avoid border crossings into the USA. The season has also been shortened to 56 games per team. The playoffs are scheduled to begin in May.