Rossi and Kasper

Perfect day for Austria’s NHL heroes

Marco Rossi (left) and Marco Kasper had reason to celebrate.

(Bild: AP)

Perfect Saturday for the two Austrians in the NHL: Both Marco Rossi and Marco Kasper won their games in the North American professional league and also scored.

 The 20-year-old Kasper from Carinthia scored his first goal in his NHL comeback and won with the Detroit Red Wings at the Nashville Predators. The forward from Vorarlberg scored the opening goal in his Minnesota Wild's win at the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Second NHL appearance
It was former KAC player Kasper's second NHL appearance in a year and a half. The Detroit Red Wings celebrated their second win of the season with a 5-2 (1-1, 1-0, 3-1) victory over the Nashville Predators. Kasper received praise for his performance from match-winner Andrew Copp, who scored two goals. "He plays with a lot of effort (...) and will be a good player for a long time," Copp said of the Carinthian.

Kasper played on a line with Michael Rasmussen and Jonatan Berggren, was used by coach Derek Lalonde in the second power play formation, received over 15 minutes of ice time and finished the game with a plus-two rating in the plus/minus rating. The center also recorded his first assist in the 14th minute, picking up the disc in the attacking third before Vladimir Tarasenko tied the game at 1:1.

Second duel also won
Captain Dylan Larkin on the power play (24th), Copp (44th), Simon Edvinsson (59th) and Copp (60th) each scored into the empty net in front of over 17,000 spectators to give Detroit a second win in their duel with Nashville. Exactly one week ago, the Red Wings achieved their only win of the season with a 3-0 win at home against the Predators. Nashville is still without points after five games.

Kasper was selected eighth overall by Detroit in the 2022 draft and played his first NHL game on April 2, 2023. He then played for the Grand Rapids Griffins farm team. With a strong preparation with the Red Wings and good performances in the first two AHL games of the season, he recommended himself for appearances in the NHL this year.

Rossi, meanwhile, solidified his position as a mainstay for the Minnesota Wild. In the first of five away games, the team won 3:1 (1:0, 0:0, 2:1) against the Columbus Blue Jackets, despite once again having to do without defenseman and captain Jared Spurgeon. The 23-year-old from Vorarlberg scored the important first goal in the 13th minute after a perfect pass from Yakov Trenin. After that, the game remained scoreless for half an hour, mainly thanks to Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson. In the second period, he kept a clean sheet during a four-minute powerplay phase in which he made seven saves. In the third period, Kiril Kaprizov became the match-winner - with the 2:0 (43rd/PP) and the assist for the 3:0 scored by Mats Zuccarello (49th). Yegor Chinakhov was only able to score the home team's consolation goal in the 59th minute.

Minnesota's run of success is thus unbroken: In the five games already played since the start of the season, the team has always been able to score points and is now in third place in its NHL division after the latest victory. Rossi already has two goals and three assists to his name in the young season. On Saturday, he was on the ice for 17 minutes in Columbus and finished the game with a plus-two rating in the plus/minus category, the best of his team. On Tuesday, Minnesota visits the reigning league champions Florida Panthers, who are leading their division.