Lian Bichsel joins the list of scorers in his first game in the NHL. The defenseman from Solothurn scores against Nashville, but loses 1:4 to the Predators with Dallas.
Bichsel was on the ice for less than two minutes in the world’s best ice hockey league before he had to leave the ice for the penalty box after a cross-check. Dallas survived being outnumbered, but fell behind decisively in the middle third. The visitors from Nashville scored three times in the space of three minutes before Bichsel reduced the deficit midway through the final period. The Swiss Justus Annunen scored with a powerful shot after a quick counter-attack. The Predators finally scored into an empty net with three minutes remaining.
Bichsel made an appealing debut in the NHL, getting just under 16 minutes of ice time and posting a plus-1 rating. Roman Josi was absent for the Predators due to a lower-body injury.
Moser with an assist
Janis Moser had a pleasing evening. The 24-year-old from Biel contributed an assist in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 8-3 win in Calgary. Russia’s Nikita Kucherov shone with a goal and five assists.
The Vancouver Canucks were also victorious. The Canucks beat champions Florida 4-0 in front of their home crowd. Pius Suter was on the ice for almost 15 minutes, but not for any of the goals.
New Jersey handed the Los Angeles Kings their first defeat in six games. The Devils turned around a deficit and won 3:1. None of the four Swiss players involved had a stick in the goals.
Defeats for Kurashev and Niederreiter
Philipp Kurashev and Chicago lost 4-5 to the New York Islanders. The Blackhawks came back from a 5-1 deficit in the final minutes, but were unable to avoid their sixth loss in the last seven games. The Swiss forward went scoreless for the seventh time in a row and left the ice with a minus-2 record.
Nino Niederreiter also failed to score. The Grisons native and the Winnipeg Jets lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 2:3 after overtime in front of their home crowd.
Swiss
