By Claude McGyver, Hellcats beat writer for The Athletic
COLOGNE — Twelve hours after their general manager publicly asked whether the group can still win, the Hellcats produced the kind of evidence that should worry Sebastian Horn more than yesterday did.
They beat the Vancouver Stompers 2-1 in a shootout on Monday night. They got their hold on first place back. At 97 points, with the streak over and the chase pack briefly held off, the surface reading is exactly what the team needed.
Under the surface: against the worst team in the UHL, in their own building, the Hellcats took one shot in the entire first period. Robert Thomas scored it eight seconds in. They did not generate another for the rest of the frame, and were outshot 10-1 in the opening twenty minutes. They finished the night outshot 28-21 by Vancouver. The worst team in the league put more pucks on net at MühlenArena am Dom than the home side did.
The reason Cologne got two points has a name, and it is Soderblom. He stopped 27 of 28 in regulation and overtime. He stopped all three shootout attempts. He was, in every measurable sense, the only thing on the home side that worked.
Everything else Horn named from the podium that morning was still there. Dougie Hamilton took three minor penalties. The Hellcats failed to generate offence against the league's bottom team. They failed to protect a lead. They were rescued, again, by a goaltender — this time the backup, getting his first start in five games.
"Tonight wasn't the answer," Zach Werenski said postgame. "Tonight was a result."
He was being generous. A win against Vancouver on one shot in the first period is not a result. It is a warning dressed up as one.
Five games left. The standings still say first. The hockey says something else entirely.