A good part of the NHL season is history and last month, the Canadian North Division was affected for the first time by the now almost 50 game postponements. Leon Draisaitl and Dominik Kahun suffered setbacks against fellow favorites Toronto, but remain on course for the playoffs. Tobias Rieder and his Buffalo Sabres broke a seemingly endless losing streak shortly before the end of the month. Things are going all the better for Philipp Grubauer, who is currently probably the best goalkeeper in the league and is rolling from victory to victory with the Colorado Avalanche. Marc Michaelis will probably never forget March 2021, as it brought him his long-awaited NHL debut and Nico Sturm scored the winning goal in a game for the first time. In the AHL, Dominik Bokk is causing a stir after initial difficulties, Tom Kühnhackl and Leon Gawanke also scored their first goals of the season and with the trade deadline on April 12, all eyes are on the potential trade deals of the NHL clubs. There is a lot of movement to be expected, especially in Buffalo.
March in North America from a German perspective at a glance:
Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
Even though Leon Draisaitl and his Edmonton Oilers are in third place in the North Division, three defeats against the Toronto Maple Leafs in March and most recently a 0:4 against the Montreal Canadiens were not easy to digest. Even three scorer points from the German top star couldn't prevent the last defeat against the Leafs (3:4 nV). “It wasn't all bad in this game, but there are just things that we have to do better,” said Draisaitl afterwards and promptly achieved a 3-2 win in overtime two days later. With a hat trick, a four-game goal streak and a five-point night in the win over Ottawa (7-1), Draisaitl was named one of the Players of the Week mid-month. Overall, the Cologne native is currently in second place on the NHL scoring list behind teammate Connor McDavid with 19 goals and 35 assists from 37 games.
Philipp Grubauer (Colorado Avalanche)
Philipp Grubauer stands out and is a key guarantee of success for the Colorado Avalanche with outstanding performances in a row. The Rosenheimer was rightly named “First Star of the Week” in mid-March. Grubauer recorded his fifth shutout of the season in a 6-0 win against the Minnesota Wild - a league record. With a FanWith a save percentage of almost 93 percent and an exceptionally strong goals-against average of 1,78, he is currently the best NHL goalkeeper. His winning streak of eight games was broken in the loss to the Vegas Golden Knights (2:3 aet), but Grubauer has now scored in eleven starts in a row. A total of 1782 minutes played put him in first place in this category too. "Grubi" also set a record at the end of the month: After the home win against the Arizona Coyotes (9:3), he is the first goalkeeper in the history of the Avalanche to win twelve games in a single month. "Grubi played fantastically," praised head coach Jared Bednar after Grubauer's 100th career win. The Upper Bavarian is the third German goalie to reach this mark after Olaf Kölzig and Thomas Greiss. Despite all of his top personal performances, his big goal remains the Stanley Cup.
Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators)
Seven points in 13 appearances are Tim Stützle's personal monthly result, which is quite impressive. Although there were only five wins for Stützle and the Ottawa Senators, in addition to six matches in a row with at least one point, the last two wins against the Calgary Flames were also a real bright spot. “The two wins against Calgary, who are in the fight for a play-off place, were very important for the team. We worked hard for it and earned it,” said Stützle in a video interview with the Ottawa Senators. The team is in last place in the Canadian North Division with 28 points, but is significantly more competitive than at the start of the season.
Nico Sturm (Minnesota Wild)
Things are still going well for Nico Sturm and the Minnesota Wild, who are particularly impressive with their home strength. The recent narrow defeats at the San José Sharks do not change anything about the successful season so far. The Augsburg team is currently in third place in the West Division with 21 wins. Sturm has been deployed in recent games on the fourth line of attack with American Nick Bjugstad and two-time Stanley Cup winner Nick Bonino and remains an important part of the Wild's shorthanded game. He contributed a goal and two assists offensively, although the goal was a special one. For the first time in his short NHL career, Sturm scored a winning goal for his team.
Marc Michaelis (Vancouver Canucks)
In March, a lifelong dream finally came true for Marc Michaelis. After being on the Vancouver Canucks' extended squad for weeks, he was allowed to play his first games in the NHL. In six appearances, he didn't score a point, but he and his team left the ice as winners five times, including a win against his former teammates Leon Draisaitl and Dominik Kahun, with whom he played together for the Jungadler Mannheim in the 2011/12 DNL season. "He's a clever player. He's fast and has a good sense of hockey. For a young guy who's new to the lineup, he played really well. He had to prove himself against strong opposing lines and in different positions. His performances were convincing enough that he's staying on the team," said head coach Travis Green at NHL.com/de.
Dominik Kahun (Edmonton Oilers)
Dominik Kahun continues to have to fight hard for his ice time with the Edmonton Oilers. Five goals and four assists put him in ninth place in the team's internal scorer rankings; in March he contributed one goal in six appearances. On the second or third line, Kahun received 14 to XNUMX minutes of ice time per game. With the Alberta team still firmly on course for the playoffs, Kahun may soon have the opportunity to play in the NHL finals for the first time.
Tobias Rieder (Buffalo Sabres)
Tobias Rieder contributed two goals and his first assist of the season last month. But that will hardly be any consolation for the Landshut native, because his Buffalo Sabers are in a huge crisis and are in last place in the East Division. After the NHL's longest negative streak of 18 defeats in a row since the tie was abolished, the team at least once again experienced what it is like to win a game in a 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers last March evening. For head coach Ralph Krueger, the first success since February 23rd came too late; he had to vacate his position in mid-March. With a lot of activity expected from Buffalo between now and the trade deadline on April 12, it's not out of the question that Rieder will soon be wearing a different jersey since he has a contract that expires at the end of the season.
Thomas Greiss (Detroit Red Wings)
Thomas Greiss received seven appearances for the Detroit Red Wings in March and recorded his second win of the season against the Dallas Stars. The Füssen player has played a total of 22 games and 1037 minutes so far. His Fangquote is 88,8 percent and the goals conceded average is 3,42. The Red Wings are still bottom of the Central Division.
Dominik Bokk (Carolina Hurricanes/Chicago Wolves)
The Schweinfurt native is doing very well with the Chicago Wolves. Twelve wins from 15 games put the AHL team from the US state of Illinois in first place in the Central Division. Bokk himself is also getting going: he has scored a goal in four of the last five games and has prepared four more goals so far. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky described his winger's performance development positively: “He got off to a slow start, which is to be expected from a young player who comes from Europe and has hardly played on North American ice. If you compare his performance from day one to today, you can see a significant improvement.”
Leon Gawanke (Winnipeg Jets/Manitoba Moose)
Last Sunday, Leon Gawanke scored his first goal of the season for the Manitoba Moose. He scored with a slap shot from the blue line BerlinHe made it 3-1 against Laval Rocket, which the Moose gave up (final score 3-5). For the Canadian AHL team, Gawanke forms an important defensive component with Canadian Jimmy Oligny and is also on the ice in the power play. Overall, the Winnipeg Jets farm team still has room for improvement with eight wins from 20 games.
Tom Kühnhackl (Bridgeport Sound Tigers)
After the long-term shoulder injury and the restart in the AHL, Tom Kühnhackl is getting better and better. The 29-year-old has scored points in the last four games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, including his first two goals of the season. However, team success is a long time coming. Three wins after twelve games is not a convincing record.
Lean Bergmann (San Jose Sharks/San Jose Barracuda)
San Joé Barracuda with the German winger is also having an up-and-down season so far with seven wins from 18 games. Lean Bergmann is required to play a defensive role that allows him to shine less offensively than usual. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old is certainly longing for his first goal of the season.