Philipp Grubauer has been one of many goalies in the NHL so far. But in the playoffs he is currently playing so well that a goalie legend followed his secret of success.
“It’s a great mix of old and new,” said Henrik Lundqvist on TV station TNT, “That’s why I like Grubauer.” Lundqvist knows his stuff, the 41-year-old Swede was one of the best hockey goalies of his time with more than 1,000 games for the New York Rangers.
He vividly described to the TV audience what makes the Seattle professional Grubauer special. “He’s a butterfly goalie, but he still stays put.” In the butterfly style, goaltenders drop to their knees and spread their lower legs wide from the body. They cover a lot with the wide leg protectors and can fend off flat shots well.
Lundqvist pays homage to Grubauer
However, it is difficult to get back on your feet afterwards. That’s why it’s an advantage to stay upright longer, like Grubauer, said Lundqvist. “Because he stands a lot, he becomes more patient. That’s the most important thing for goalies: to be patient and to read the shot.”
What also distinguishes Grubauer from many other goalkeepers is the posture of the limbs. He does not expect the shots with X-legs and spread arms, but “He keeps his legs more together and his gloves close to his body. He looks like a square moving.” This allows Grubauer to react better.
Lucrative but unremarkable career
It was not foreseeable that the native of Rosenheim would one day be ennobled in this way by a highly respected TV expert. Although the 31-year-old can look back on a long career in North America, at the age of 17 he switched to the Canadian youth league OHL to the Belleville Blues. He became an NHL champion as a backup goaltender with the Washington Capitols in 2018 and then earned a regular spot with the Colorado Avalanche.
So his career is remarkable and lucrative, after his move to the Seattle Kraken in 2021 his annual salary is said to be $ 5.9 million. But his first season there was sobering, the brand new franchise ended up in 30th place out of 32 in its premiere season 2021/22. And this year too, hardly anyone believed them to be capable of anything at first, their goalie Grubauer was a side note.
Mega odds in the decisive game
But the Kraken caused a big surprise with their 4-3 win in round one against the defending champions Colorado Avalanche. Outstanding: Goalie Grubauer. In the decisive seventh game (2:1) he fended off a fantastic 33 of 34 shots, 16 of them in the first third alone.
Grubauer already shone in the previous games with 214 saves – the best among all goalies in the first round of the playoffs. He also overtook Olaf Kölzig to become the Germany goaltender with the most playoff wins in NHL history. “We have all the confidence in the world in him,” said teammate Oliver Bjorkstrand. “I don’t know how this series would have gone if we hadn’t had him.”
World Cup use for Germany less likely
“Gruuu”, as he is called by the fans, kept his calm and modesty in the interviews after the win and emphasized the team effort. “A lot of people wrote us off at the start of the season. We taught them otherwise.”
So the playoff adventure continues, the next opponents are the Dallas Stars, game one is on the German night on Wednesday. Germany’s new national ice hockey coach Harold Kreis will watch with a crying eye. Grubauer’s participation in the World Cup in Finland and Latvia from May 12th to 28th has become significantly less likely due to qualifying for the second round.