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Grubauer towers over returning to Denver

He came (back), saw and conquered: Grubauer returned to his old place of work in Denver as Seattle’s starter and swung straight up to spoilsport. The Rosenheim native saved 34 of 35 shots on goal, had an impressive 97.1 percent save rate, and captured the first playoff win in Kraken franchise history.

“It was definitely a weird feeling coming back, but at the same time it was really family because I’ve played a couple of playoff series with these guys. There’s nothing better than playing your old team in the playoffs,” said Grubauer mischievously.

The 31-year-old caught three years for the Avalanche between 2018 and 2021, started three playoff runs with them and became one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy for the best goalkeeper of the season after the 2020/21 season. Ironically, in the first year after leaving for Seattle, Colorado won the Stanley Cup. However, the German did not have an open score with the ex-club.

“I didn’t care at all. I just go out and play,” said Grubauer. “I know every corner and know what it’s like here. That definitely helps. Also that I’ve trained here a lot and played a lot of games.”

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“A fantastic guy and an even better goalkeeper”

Especially in the final third, in which the Kraken came under pressure with a goal shot ratio of 5:14, Grubauer stood like a rock in the surf and impressed with his calmness and athleticism.

“‘Grubi’ was good. He laid the foundation for us, was ready to play a playoff game and made important saves at the right time,” said Seattle coach David Hakstol. “He did a great job and made important saves that kept us in the game. That’s exactly what we needed, which is why we’re very happy for him,” agreed the striker Alexander Wennberg with a. “He was great and a star back there,” summarized attackers Yanni Gourde into words. “He was outstanding and made five to ten game-winning saves,” said Eeli Tolvanen. “He’s a fantastic guy and an even better goalkeeper.”

He only had to admit defeat once when Nathan MacKinnon played a sharp pass from the outside to the back post, where Mikko Rantanen steered the disc into the goal from close range with his left skate (13′).

“It was a nice goal from them. But after that we signed them off, put clubs in their lanes and took them out of the game. We blocked a lot of shots and kept them away from our goal, which was important and also helped me as a goalkeeper helped a lot,” said Grubauer happily.

Video: SEA@COL, Sp1: Wennberg hits counterattack

Toughness, speed, counterattacks and good starts are the Kraken’s recipe for success

Meanwhile, the Kraken convinced with a good mixture of hardness (40:29 checks), commitment (23:19 blocks) and speed. Again and again Seattle evoked danger with his fast switching game. Good starts in the individual thirds were also helpful:

After 3:26 of the first period, Tolvanen played the puck deep himself and benefited from a misguided pass from the Avalanche defender Devon Toews, which landed directly on the Finn’s blade. In the first attempt, Tolvanen failed because of goalie Aleksandar Georgiev, but then successfully dusted off to make it 1-0 (4th). “That’s how you want to start the game,” Gourde said. “Every row has done that: play the puck deep, forecheck and run a few checks. That’s when you get chances. Scoring the first goal is important in the playoffs.”

In the second round, only 1:20 minutes had been played when Wennberg scored from the right faceoff circle with a precise shot into the right corner of the cross (22nd). “Especially in the playoffs you have to seize these opportunities. I just tried to shoot and was rewarded for it,” said Wennberg.

After 4:03 minutes in the third third snapped Morgan Geekie the gate light on. After taking the pucker behind the goal and a quick pass from Wennberg, Geekie made it 3-1 with a direct acceptance (45th).

“We wanted to start well, in this arena, against such a strong opponent, you don’t want to run after them. So we wanted to be there straight away. Starting well in the individual periods and being able to take the lead was the key to victory today “, explained Hakstol, whose match plan worked out perfectly.

Grubauer: “It will depend on consistency”

With a 3-1 away win at the reigning Stanley Cup Champion, the Kraken pulled off a big surprise in the very first playoff game in franchise history.

“I’m proud of the boys,” said Grubauer. “We played the full 60 minutes, everyone contributed and that’s how it has to be in the playoffs. You can’t afford passengers. It was an important win for organization but it was only Game 1.”

Seattle is a team without superstars, but with a lot of depth, team spirit and a surprising amount of playoff experience: Grubauer, Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwarz have already won the Stanley Cup, Justin Schultz, Andre Burakovsky and Gourde even twice each.

“On the one hand, we’ve never played a playoff game together. On the other hand, we have a lot of experience in this cabin. We have players who have been in the playoffs to the end and have won the Stanley Cup won. That helps us,” says Grubauer. “The importance and excitement of the playoffs increases, of course, but at the end of the day, even in the knockout stages, it’s just a hockey game.”

The next duel of the opponents will take place again on Thursday (9:30 pm ET; NHL.tv; Fri. 3:30 pm CEST) in Colorado.

“They defend the Stanley Cup, but we take care of our game,” emphasizes Grubauer. “It will depend on consistency. You want to go the full distance. You want to win. So you have to be consistent in every game and every single substitution and sacrifice individual success for team success.”