The losing streak has ended at five games for the Utah Hockey Club. The team beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday to win the final game of their four-game homestand. Here are some takeaways from one of the more memorable games of the season for Utah.
Dylan Guenther’s Memorable Return
There’s no debate that this Utah team really missed its young superstars. With Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley both injured, the offense really struggled, and Utah went on a five-game losing streak. They really needed the duo back and Tuesday’s game brought just what the doctor ordered. Guenther returned to the lineup and immediately made an impact, carrying Utah to their win against the Flyers.
Guenther first set up Mikhail Sergachev for the first goal of the game. Next, he scored one of his own after entering the Flyers’ zone, which tied up the game. Finally, in overtime with less than a second remaining, he scored with a very similar shot to win the game for Utah and snap the team’s losing streak.
This season, Guenther has been one of Utah’s best players. He’s shown up at critical points when they need him most. With his two goals, he’s now tied with Clayton Keller for the lead in goals despite missing a chunk of games. In total, he’s almost a point-per-game player with 37 points in 41 games.
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Guenther hadn’t sustained a major injury in his pro career before this season. It was a challenge to sit out and watch his team lose without him. However, the amount of work he put into coming back paid off on Tuesday and it resulted in a massive win.
“It’s tough getting injured,” Guenther said. “I’d never really gone through that before. It’s nice that the work that you put in paid off and just have to keep it rolling here. Try to get some more wins.”
Utah doubled the number of shots the Flyers put up, and Guenther led the way with six shots of his own. It shows just how important he is to Utah’s success and how crucial he is to helping the team’s offense generate goals.
Guenther has provided the Utah faithful with many memorable moments throughout the season. He scored the first goal in franchise history in the first game against the Chicago Blackhawks. He led the NHL in goals for a couple of games into the season. Now, his three-point return night, capped off by an overtime-winning goal, sends Utah fans home with another great memory. Arguably, Tuesday’s game was up there with games like the home opener and Karel Vejmelka’s insane win against the Carolina Hurricanes in terms of ones that will be remembered for a while.
“Spicy Tuna” Provided a Much-Needed Spark
Liam O’Brien isn’t the most skilled forward. He isn’t a player that’s going to produce a lot. He isn’t even going to play for parts of the season. However, not only is he a well-liked player in the locker room, but he also provides something that some can’t replicate: energy.
Minutes into the game, with the Flyers up 1-0, O’Brien made the decision to fight Nic Deslauriers. Deslauriers is known around the league as one of the best fighters and one of the last enforcers, so it was pretty clear that the fight was going to be a good one – and it was. O’Brien held his own in arguably one of the best fights a Utah player has been involved in this season. The man nicknamed “Spicy Tuna” made sure on his way to the penalty box to amp up the crowd and the Utah bench loved it.
O’Brien’s night didn’t end there. He looked really good against the Flyers, putting up five shots and five hits as his line with Kevin Stenlund and Nick Bjugstad impressed. O’Brien made sure to give credit to his linemates when asked what he did differently to have a standout game.
“I was just skating,” O’Brien said. “My linemates were great tonight. They won a lot of battles and they were getting me the puck…Just moving my feet and we got all those chances.”
O’Brien is one of the few Utah players that still doesn’t have a goal this season. He doesn’t even have a point. However, it’s not all about points. His physicality and hard work have helped Utah win games. When O’Brien gets held out of the lineup, he doesn’t complain rather, he tries his best to get better. It’s gotten to the point where it’s earned him a spot back in the lineup culminating into potentially his best game of the season. That’s at least what head coach André Tourigny said.
“I think OB was really good,” Tourigny said. “Maybe his best game of the year.”
A Big Win But There’s Still Ground to Make Up
Tuesday’s win was big for Utah as it snapped their five-game losing streak and earned them a valuable two points. They also managed to win another game at Delta Center in front of a loud and rambunctious crowd. That was specifically important because Utah won’t play another home game until Feb. 23. It was good to end the homestand on a positive note, especially with how loud the arena was.
“It was buzzing,” Guenther said. “The crowd was buzzing the whole game. Even when, like, they announced my name in the starting lineup. That feels really good as a player and that makes you excited to play.”
On top of everything else, the win is great as it puts the team back at a .500 record. However, playoffs are still a very far grasp for Utah. They are six points back of the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, who currently both have 59 points, with the Flames holding the second wild card spot.
To catch up to them, Utah will need something miraculous to happen. They’ll need to go on a very hot streak and rattle off a bunch of wins to propel them back into playoff conversations or they’ll need the Flames and Canucks to go on a long losing streak. It is possible. Look at the Vegas Golden Knights right now, who are on a tough losing skid right now as the Edmonton Oilers take over the top spot in the Pacific Division. It’s very tough to imagine both the Flames and Canucks going on extended losing streaks at the same time, but Tourigny has hope that something could happen to help Utah out.
“We don’t look at scores elsewhere, but we know Calgary lost,” Tourigny said. “Vancouver is up by one after two … At this point, we’ll need a little help, … but we can make it.”
Utah put themselves in this situation. The five-game losing streak only worsened that. Now, they’ll have to try to make up for it in the final three games before the league pauses for the 4 Nations Face-Off. They’ll need to discover how to win consistently as they have struggled to do that most of this season. However, Tuesday’s victory is a step in the right direction and it’s one the team can definitely build off of.
Utah will now head east for a three-game road trip. They’ll travel to Columbus first to play the Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets are 26-21-7 this season and are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. These two teams met in Salt Lake City just a couple of days ago where Utah lost 3-2 in overtime.