The Boston Bruins had to admit defeat to the Florida Panthers. © APA / MADDIE MEYER

Octopuses and panthers create a sensation

The underdog defeats the favorite - that happened twice in the NHL on Sunday. The Boston Bruins are out after their record main round. Likewise defending champion Colorado.

01 May 2023

From: dpa

The Seattle Kraken and the Florida Panthers sensationally reached the second round of the NHL playoffs after victories against heavily favored teams. The Kraken, led by the extremely strong national ice hockey goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer, defeated defending champion Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in the seventh game of the series on Sunday in the first playoff participation in their history. Grubauer showed an outstanding performance and fended off 33 of 34 shots on goal.

Now they are in the semifinals of the Western Conference in the playoffs and face the Dallas Stars. "I'm ready and done. What a game,” said the 31-year-old from Rosenheim on US television. The experts at the broadcasting station TNT praised Grubauer's performance effusively.

The big title favorite is out

The Kraken caused the second sensation in the best ice hockey league in the world on Sunday. The Florida Panthers had previously defeated the Boston Bruins 4-3 after overtime in Game Seven and were thus thrown out. The Bruins had set win and point records in the main round and were favorites for the title in the best ice hockey league in the world. The Panthers were already 1:3 behind after victories in the best-of-seven series and only equalized 3:3 in the decisive game with less than a minute left in the game. Now the Panthers face the Toronto Maple Leafs.