The Utah Hockey Club finished off their seven-game homestand with a bang on Monday, beating the current best team in the Western Conference: the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 5-2. It was a complete game all around for Utah as they won their second straight game. Here are some takeaways from Monday night’s game.
What’s the Määttä?
Olli Määttä has been an integral part of Utah ever since arriving in October via a trade with the Detroit Red Wings. He isn’t an offensive defenseman but he is one solid defensive defenseman. Eating up an average of 21:29 of ice time this season with Utah, he has stepped up big during the absences of John Marino, Sean Durzi, Maveric Lamoureux, and Robert Bortuzzo. Even with some of those players back, he continues to be a big help on the blue line.
With Utah, Määttä’s plus/minus stat is currently a plus-7 which is good enough for second on the team, only behind Michael Kesselring who is a plus-13. Meanwhile, his average ice time is fifth on the team but that is also factoring in Durzi who hasn’t played a game since October, and Marino who has only played four games. Combined, these two stats show how reliable Määttä has been defensively despite playing a decent amount of hockey.
His offense hasn’t been atrocious either. He currently has nine points with Utah. While Määttä probably won’t get close to his career-high 29 points that he set twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he has chipped in some crucial assists.
Related: Utah HC: Can Clayton Keller Match His Career-High Point Total This Season?
On Monday, Määttä finally got his first goal as a member of Utah. Nick Schmaltz received a pass near the top of the faceoff circle and immediately passed it to Määttä. He then hammered the puck to the net and scored. While at first, it appeared Clayton Keller had tipped the puck, it actually wasn’t tipped at all meaning the Finnish defenseman had his first of the season.
With the Red Wings, Määttä was playing near the bottom of the blue line. His new home in Utah has revitalized his career, turning him once again into a top-four defenseman. His play has impressed so much that he was named to Team Finland for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. While many won’t realize how important Määttä is to Utah based on pure offense, he has helped Utah’s defense remain a viable one. His goal on Monday was just a footnote in the great hockey he has played in Salt Lake City.
Clayton Keller: a True Hockey Player
If Keller’s story on Monday doesn’t explain how good of a captain and hockey player he is to everyone, there might not be a story that will. He has had some great games in Utah like Saturday’s against the St. Louis Blues where he had four points, but his game on Monday stole headlines.
During the second period, a shot from Kesselring rolled up Keller’s stick and right into his face. Utah’s captain immediately left the ice and headed to the locker room. Later that period, he returned and helped Määttä score. Although the goal wasn’t credited to him, Keller helped screen Connor Hellebuyck so that Määttä’s shot got past him.
Keller later got his goal by depositing the puck into the empty net to seal the win for Utah. He played through the whole rest of the game with stitches and a swollen eye. The definition of a warrior and a hockey player.
“That’s a hockey player, huh,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Coming back without hesitation, without a doubt in his head, that was great.”
Keller being able to return from injury and play out the rest of the game was pure energy for the bench. To be able to watch your captain go out and score a goal and lead your team to a massive victory is nothing but inspiring. It definitely felt that way to Josh Doan.
“I think it does a lot for the bench knowing that he’s willing to do that and come back and go right back to the net front next shift,” Doan said.
Luckily for Keller, the puck didn’t catch him square in the eye. Twelve stitches were still needed but despite the massive swelling, he felt great after the game.
“I’m feeling great,” Keller said. “I got lucky, it didn’t catch my eye. When it happened, it happened so fast you don’t really feel much. But I tried to look through my eye and I knew I could so I wasn’t too worried after that.”
Keller is now on a four-game point streak. In his past four games, he has nine points, which is an incredible amount. He has shown his raw talent and incredible offensive firepower, which does bring up the conversation on why he was snubbed from Team USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster. Maybe decisions would have been different if they were made later. Either way, Keller has been Utah’s best player recently and has been showing he is a superstar in this league.
Utah Takes Down the Best in the West
If the win against the Blues on Saturday was big, Utah’s win against the Jets was massive. In 48 games, the Jets have only been beaten 17 times. Utah is now one of those teams who can say they’ve accomplished that feat.
The Jets are also currently the best team not just in the Central Division but the whole Western Conference. Utah pretty much handled them for almost a full 60 minutes. They also did it in front of a very loud audience at Delta Center. Utah fans haven’t gotten to see a lot of home wins from their team, but Monday’s game had to be one of the biggest wins of the season besides possibly the home opener.
The win against the Jets also marked the first time Utah has won back-to-back games at home without a road trip in between. Monday’s win was the final game of a seven-game homestand for Utah which is their longest of the season. During the homestand, the team went 3-4-0 which isn’t the best but considering the two back-to-back wins against division opponents, it could’ve been way worse.
Everyone was playing at the top of their game on Monday. The second line was extremely noticeable. Doan had two points and Barrett Hayton had three. Logan Cooley extended his point streak to five games and Schmaltz extended his to six. Connor Ingram had a fantastic game in net as well. All in all, it was a fantastic night for Utah. Throughout the game, it felt like they had complete control and it was thanks to their leadership and play.
“I never felt the boat was rocking,” Tourigny said. “We had great leadership; we had a great presence. I’m really proud of the way we weathered the storm and stayed with it. When we took the lead, we didn’t change the way we played.”
With the win, Utah has slowly caught back up to the wild card hunt. They are four points back of the Calgary Flames for the second wild card spot. While there shouldn’t be any hint of celebration yet as Utah will need to compile some more wins to really cement themselves in the hunt, the team’s win against the Jets certainly gets them closer.
Now, Utah will leave for their first road trip since Jan. 4 as they head north to play the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are 28-15-4 and are coming off a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The two have split the season series so far with Utah winning the most recent match 2-1 back in December.
