Ice hockey – NHL first for Akira Schmid
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Ice HockeyFirst in the NHL for Akira Schmid
The 21-year-old Bernese goalkeeper kept goal for the New Jersey Devils for the first time on Saturday evening. He could not avoid the defeat of his team. Nico Hischier placed in Covid protocol.
Akira Schmid played in the NHL for the first time in his career on Saturday night.
Reuters
Great first for Akira Schmid in the NHL. Trained in Langnau, the 21-year-old Bernese goalkeeper – who was drafted in the 5th round in 2018 by the New Jersey Devils – finally got his chance at the highest level. It must be said that Schmid panicked the statistics since the start of the AHL season with the Utica Comets, home club of the New Jersey Devils.
Akira Schmid was therefore finally able to prove his worth at the highest level. However, he could not avoid the defeat of his team on the ice of the New York Islanders (2-4). Schmid stopped 25 of the 29 shots he had to catch (86.2% stops).
And the least we can write is that Akira Schmid wanted to let people know where he was from: he indeed evolved with a mask decorated in Swiss colors!
Akira Schmid wore the colors of Switzerland on his mask on Saturday evening in New York.
AFP
His Zurich teammate Jonas Siegenthaler (22’16 » of playing time, differential of +1) was the author of an assist on the opener of Jesper Bratt (18th). On the other hand, Nico Hischier did not play: he was indeed placed in the Covid protocol, just like Ryan Graves.
« Nico and Ryan are two important players, » said Devils head coach Lindy Ruff. Every team has to deal with that. We will see how the situation evolves in the coming days.”
Niederreiter: one shot, one goal!
Other Swiss were in the running on Saturday evening, and all of them more or less stood out. Nino Niederreiter had a maximum success rate: one shot on goal, one goal! “El Nino” (10’42 »/+2) scored the 2-0 Carolina Hurricanes in the 27th minute. His team finally won 3-1 on the ice of the Edmonton Oilers.
Timo Meier (20’37 »/+2) also actively participated in the San Jose Sharks’ 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars. He indeed offered the two goals to his teammates Tomas Hertl (9th) and Erik Karlsson (37th).
Kevin Fiala (16’20 »/-1) also entered the scoring list by assisting Marcus Foligno’s opener for Minnesota. But the Wild lost 1-2 in Los Angeles against the Kings.
Finally, the Bernese Jura Grégory Hofmann was aligned for 19’46 » with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He finished with a neutral differential after trying his luck four times. Columbus won 5-4 after overtime on Seattle Kraken ice.
NHL. Saturday results: Calgary–Boston 2–4. Edmonton–Carolina 1–3. Los Angeles–Minnesota 2–1 San Jose–Dallas 2–1. NY Islanders–New Jersey 4–2. Seattle – Columbus 4–5 a.d. Arizona – Philadelphia 3–5. Buffalo–Washington 2–3 A.D. Toronto–Chicago 5–4. Pittsburgh–Anaheim 1–0. St. Louis–Montreal 4–1. Ottawa–Tampa Bay 4–0.
