The trophy in his hands. Nico Sturm did it. He is only the fifth German to triumph in the NHL. A success with announcement.
Helmets flew high through the air, racquets swept across the ice, the pros around Nico Sturm embraced the rink in a huge cheering cluster.
The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. With the huge trophy in his raised arms, Sturm became the fifth German to win the title in the North American ice hockey league NHL. Before the 27-year-old from Augsburg, Uwe Krupp, Dennis Seidenberg, Tom Kühnhackl and Philipp Grubauer had succeeded.
The endless party started with the final siren at 2: 1 (0: 1, 2: 0, 0: 0) over defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, on Thursday the big parade in Denver is scheduled for Sturm and his teammates. “The worst NHL team five years ago completed its journey to the top of the hockey world Sunday night,” wrote the Denver Post.
Compensation by MacKinnon
“It’s crazy,” said goalscorer Nathan MacKinnon, just wanting to hug his family. “It’s hard to describe. I didn’t really know what it was going to be like to win that thing.”
He equalized the hosts’ lead in the second third, Artturi Lehkonen also scored the winning goal in the middle. This was the decision in the sixth of seven possible final duels, Colorado had made the fourth victory perfect.
“It was like watching a video game,” said Erik Johnson, 34, one of the Avs’ older players. Humility, Gratitude, Joy, Pride. “It’s fantastic,” said Johnson, who has played for Colorado since 2011 and almost ended his career a year ago. Captain Gabriel Landeskog was the first to give him the trophy after the triumph, after receiving it from deputy NHL boss Bill Daly – NHL boss Gary Bettman was absent due to a corona infection. “It’s heavier than I thought it would be,” Johnson commented.
Storm shines with Stanley Cup
The huge trophy is almost 90 centimeters high and weighs almost 16 kilograms. But the grin didn’t leave Nico Sturm’s face either when he carried the legendary and not much more coveted Stanlay Cup across the ice. The Bavarian only switched from the Minnesota Wild to Colorado in mid-March. “I want to help the Colorado team win the Stanley Cup. I’ll think about everything else after the season, »he had emphasized. Thinking should now have a bit of a break.
The Avalanche kept their 100% yield through the success – every time the team made it to the decisive series for the title, the championship is at the end: 1996, 2001 and 2022. “I had the feeling that we did the job get,” said Colorado coach Jared Bednar. Opponent Lightning had won the Stanley Cup for the past two years, but went into the Finals series against Colorado as underdogs.
