US sports compact: Draisaitl and Oilers miss NHL record

Stumbled at the last step: Ice hockey star Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers narrowly missed the winning record in the NHL. The Canadians lost 3-1 to the defending champions Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday evening and left the ice as losers after 16 wins in a row.

“It's Oil over,” was the headline of the NHL on its homepage. The Pittsburgh Penguins still hold the unrivaled record of 17 successes in a row; in the 1992/93 season, the team from Pennsylvania achieved this with superstars Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.

Edmonton took the lead early on against the Knights, and when Draisaitl was outnumbered, his strike partner Connor McDavid made it 1-0. But Vegas equalized in the first third through Nicolas Roy, and in the final period of the game, Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson made the decision in favor of the hosts.

The Oilers got off to a bad start at the start of this season, but picked themselves up and began their streak just before Christmas. The end of the successful run now came after an unwelcome break: the All-Star weekend was coming up, they would actually “like to continue playing,” said Draisaitl beforehand – the return to everyday league life now brought defeat at an inopportune time.

The Oilers missed a historic opportunity, but the game in Las Vegas has little impact on the sport. Edmonton remains in third place in the Pacific Division with 59 points and is therefore in a play-off spot. The team also played fewer games than its direct competition.

The basketball world champions Franz and Moritz Wagner suffered a serious defeat in the play-off race after a weak performance with the Orlando Magic. The team from Florida clearly lost to direct rivals Miami Heat 95:121, both teams now have the same record in the NBA with 27 wins and 24 defeats.

One game after his gala performance against Detroit (38 points), Franz Wagner only had 13 points, while his brother Moritz had little influence on the game with just three points. Orlando is eighth in the Eastern Conference, sixth place entitles it to direct participation in the championship round.

Isaiah Hartenstein, on the other hand, was able to celebrate a win with the New York Knicks after a good performance. The 25-year-old contributed 17 points and eight rebounds to the 123:113 win against the Memphis Grizzlies, which was the ninth win in the last ten games for the Knicks, who are clearly on course for the play-offs.

The Dallas Mavericks, led by their star duo Kyrie Irving (36 points) and Luka Doncic (35), won 119:107 at the Brooklyn Nets and achieved their second win in a row. Maxi Kleber scored seven points. Dallas is eighth in the West

US media are linking national team captain Dennis Schröder with a move to the Minnesota Timberwolves shortly before the end of the NBA transfer period. After the 123:129 defeat against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday evening (local time), the team is in third place in the Western Conference and, according to information from “The Athletic”, is said to be interested in Schröder. The world champion from Braunschweig should give the squad more depth as a development player. Schröder has been playing for the Toronto Raptors since this season and his contract is valid for another season. The NBA transfer window closes on Thursday (local time).