An extremely rare event occurred this Friday at around 3:07 a.m. (Swiss time) during the NHL championship match between the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens (5-3): the Zurich defender of the club based at Prudential Center Jonas Siegenthaler (27) scored a goal.
In the 31st minute, the Swiss international exploited a pass from Finnish left winger Erik Haula and placed the puck out of reach of Quebec goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault.
The fact is extremely rare since it is only Siegenthaler’s 9th goal in 328 regular season matches.
His first achievement since the start of the 2024-2025 campaign.
From his first net since December 21, 2023.
That day, just to demonstrate that it was almost another era, Alain Berset was the President of the Confederation.
Fribourg-Gottéron had easily beaten Lugano and the members of the board were patting coach Christian Dubé on the shoulders.
And HC Ajoie won at the PostFinance Arena against Berne.
The Devils obviously didn’t offer Jonas Siegenthaler a five-year, $17 million contract to reward his offensive finesse.
They did it because the Swiss has a valuable profile: even if he made a costly mistake five minutes before burning the lamp against the Habs, he is extremely reliable in his defensive territory.
He is difficult to beat in one-on-one situations.
It keeps attackers away from its danger zone.
A goalie, who is no longer with the Devils today, told us: “He is so reassuring when he is on the ice.”
This is why, when Jonas Siegenthaler scores, his teammates celebrate the moment as if it were a goal scored in overtime.
A gesture which demonstrates that the Swiss’s shadow work is appreciated at its true value.
“He has done so many good things for us since the start of the season,” summarized his coach Sheldon Keefe. And, what’s more, he scores a big goal.”
NHL. Thursday’s matches.
New Jersey – Montréal 5-3
Los Angeles – Vancouver 2-4
Ottawa – NY Islanders 2-4
Carolina – Pittsburgh 5-1
Tampa Bay – Philadelphia 1-2 tab
