In the first few games, the Capitals were still saved by their outstanding first power play unit, which has since cooled off (but the second unit scored). However, with over 50 percent, the power play remains the Caps' greatest strength. Eight of 14 goals came from power plays; the goal of improving the 5-on-5 scoring rate compared to last season has not yet been achieved.
At least two long-term injured players, Ramon Schnetzer and Konstantin Komarek, have returned, but without much preparation, their path back to peak form will take longer. In his first game, Komarek showed good passing, including on Scott Kosmachuk's power play goal.
He needs to turn the second line into a stronger weapon than it has been so far; there's been no offense at all from the bottom lines. Leon Wallner, a pleasant surprise at the World Championship, is now centering the fourth line.eiben...
Against Milan, a cause for concern: defensive work in their own zone, where opponents often got shots off unhindered, as well as a very passive PK (penalty kill).
The Hungarians put up as much resistance as they could in Vienna; five key players were missing: Tim Campbell (back this weekend), Mike Cyr, Max Gerlach, Istvan Bartalis, and Peter Vincze. Especially in offense, lines 3 and 4 played too high.
Milano, on the other hand, is completely different: apart from the long-injured Wade Allison, everyone is on board; the team presents itself as a good unit and can always field the same lineup. Already ten players have scored. Very strong: defender Alex Grant, who can create a lot of offense.
FTC-Budapest – Red Bull Salzburg (September 27, 3:6)
Two empty-net goals were misleading in terms of the result: the game was on a knife's edge for a long time before the Red Bulls secured their first three-point win of the season.
However, the failures of the first few game days were not by chance: even in Budapest, they played down to the opponent's level. Where five-man waves used to be seen, the distances between individual players are now large, and individual actions have to suffice instead.
Among the new imports, Adam Brooks shows good passing qualities but sometimes appears quite fragile. Defender Jayden Lee is an undersized D who, however, hasn't contributed any offensive impulses yet. Most notable: the brilliant skater Wyatt Kalynuk. Veteran Dennis Robertson still holds things together reasonably well and has to put in a lot of effort accordingly.
Can the Red Bulls recover from their weak start to the season – it wouldn't be the first time? Somehow the team currently seems sluggish, and its skating is far from as explosive as in its best days. Furthermore: no-name imports like Lee or Nick Poisson could remain just that.
Ferencvaros is struggling with similar problems as last season – inadequate goaltending performances (Kristof Nagy immediately regressed after a shutout against Milano), which even ten lower-priced import skaters cannot compensate for.
The only Hungarian player who has developed upwards since entering the league is winger Ferenc Laskawy. He brings a certain power to the top line but himself possesses few finishing qualities.
Backup Goalies
With the exception of Pustertal and FTC (three games each), all teams have already played four or five games.
Only Innsbruck, the Pioneers, and Fehervar (Beni Halasz played just under four minutes) have not yet given their backups a chance to prove themselves. At Pustertal, Colin Furlong was actually supposed to get his chance this week.
It's interesting how Florian Vorauer and Nicolas Wieser can capitalize on the absences of their injured colleagues Sebastian Dahm and Maxime Lagace, with an additional signing already announced in Graz.
At 26 (Vorauer) and 29 (Wieser), it should now, at the latest, be determined whether they have what it takes to be a number one or if they will remain backups for the rest of their careers...
