Picture:
Keystone
One week before the start of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Denmark and Sweden, the Swiss team has another option. Kevin Fiala is eliminated from the playoffs in the NHL.
The Los Angeles Kings once again failed to find a recipe against the Edmonton Oilers in the round of 16. After two home victories in Los Angeles at the start of the series, the Kings, led by forward Fiala from eastern Switzerland, suffered four defeats in a row – even though they led in all four games, twice by two goals.
In Game 6 in Edmonton, the L.A. Kings led 1-0 and 2-1, with Kevin Fiala providing perfect assists to make it 1-0 after 79 seconds and 3-5 after 38 minutes. He was also still on the ice in the final minute when the Kings first reduced the deficit to 4:5 through Anze Kopitar, but conceded 4:6 two seconds before the end into an empty net. Fiala scored more than one point per game in the six playoff games (3 goals, 4 assists). With 35 goals and 25 assists during the regular season, the Swiss winger had a great season.
The next few days will show whether this season will continue in Denmark next week. National coach Patrick Fischer will put out feelers from the Czech Republic in the direction of Los Angeles. A year ago, Fiala traveled to the World Championship in Prague, even though he became a father for the first time at the beginning of the World Championship. Fischer will name his World Championship squad either on Sunday after the four-nation tournament in Brno or at the beginning of next week. The Swiss team will travel directly from Brno to Denmark.
Toronto and Vegas storm into the quarter-finals
Further decisions were made in the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday night. Like Edmonton, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vegas Golden Knights reached the quarter-finals with away wins. For the team from Las Vegas, Akira Schmid is still hoping for a triumphant end to the season as the No. 2 goalie.
Three of the four quarter-final pairings have now been decided. In the East, the Toronto Maple Leafs will face the title-holders Florida Panthers and the Washington Capitals will take on the Carolina Hurricanes. In the West, the Vegas Golden Knights face off against the Edmonton Oilers.
The remaining two quarter-finalists will be determined in the series between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues (Winnipeg leads 3:2) and the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche (3:3). Colorado won the sixth game in this series 7-4 after trailing 3-4 thanks to four goals in the final period, by which time Lian Bichsel was no longer on the ice. Bichsel didn’t return to the ice after a scrap with Jack Drury and a fall into the boards at the start of the second period.
Videos from the department
