Today’s encounter in the Davos ice rink is, at least in the regular season, the last opportunity to tarnish an opponent’s impeccable record. The big question is: does the ZSC have a way to win against an HCD coached by Josh Holden? There are a few adjustments to the lineup from last Thursday. The ailing Marti and Lammikko are taking a break, but Harrington moves up and Simon Hrubec can take a seat on the players’ bench – Robin Zumbühl takes his place. Opposite him in blue and yellow is the goalkeeper with the most shutouts (6), namely Sandro Aeschlimann. But he gets off to a bit of a horror start, which puts the Lions in a comfortable position.
Cold start
Yannick Weber hasn’t scored many goals this season, but he has scored breathtaking ones when he gets a shot into the net. He curves around the HCD defender on the right and flicks the disc past Aeschlimann into the cross. Difficult angle, but the HCD goalkeeper helps a little. Practically identical, but from a simpler position, Derek Grant increased the score to 2-0 for the guests from Zurich after just under five minutes. In general, the Zurich team dominated the first section at will and put the HCD in their place. It almost seems as if Marc Crawford has found a recipe for success for the Graubünden team. Unfortunately, after 40 minutes we have to admit that the supposed solution is pure waste. After the first break, both teams seemed to have replaced each other. This means that the Lions are hardly able to achieve anything, while the HCD feels like it shifts up three gears. And so they turned the game from 0:2 to 3:2 in the middle period in front of their home crowd. Ambühl, Rasmussen and Dominik Egli ensure the turnaround. Will the coaching team find the right words for the Lions during the second break?
No solution
The ZSC Lions build on the first third in the last section. It’s an open exchange with some slot scenes on both sides. But of course the people of Zurich are under pressure to correct the deficit. So that the game is not decided prematurely, they manage to successfully survive a box game. And the further the game clock counts down, the more the Lions perform. In the end there are only 120 seconds left to somehow equalize. The ZSC Lions try this with one more field player and get Zumbühl out of the box. After a good first action, Aeschlimann is able to parry. In the subsequent attempt to attack, the Lions fail again, but get paid for it. Nordström parks the hard rubber from his own half in the empty goal. It’s 4:2 for the home team and the decision in a gripping and intense game. The Steinbocks were able to celebrate four wins this season against the Limmatstadt team. Will this also happen in a possible playoff encounter? That’s still up in the air. The last regular season game will take place in the Swiss Life Arena on Monday. The guests are the SCL Tigers, who are still fighting for a playin place.
(Marko Filipovic, Davos)