After Leon Draisaitl, Philipp Grubauer and his team were eliminated from the NHL playoffs and could theoretically travel to Finland for the Ice Hockey World Championships.
With the Seattle Kraken the goalkeeper from Rosenheim lost game seven in the semifinals of the Western Conference 1:2 against them Dallas Stars. The Texans will face the in the Conference Finals starting Friday Vegas Golden Knightswho oppose Draisaitls Edmonton Oilers prevailed in six games.
Powerless when conceding
As in the entire play-offs, Grubauer again showed a strong performance. The 31-year-old stopped 26 of 28 shots, but was unable to prevent the young franchise from being eliminated. He was largely powerless in the two goals conceded. At 1-0 benefited Loope Hintz from a puck loss in the third of the Kraken and raced towards Grubauer without an opponent. That scored 2-0 Wyatt Johnston with a technical masterpiece and a shot at the short corner.
Oliver Bjorkstrand’s goal with 17.6 seconds to go came too late. In just its second year, the Seattle Kraken had a successful season, having beaten defending champions in the playoffs the previous round Colorado Avalanches enforced.
Two squad places in Germany are still available
Whether Grubauer will travel to the World Cup, where the German team has lost three games despite good performances, is just as open as with Draisaitl. National coach Harold Kreis has released squad positions for both professionals.