It’s yet another loss for the Utah Hockey Club at the Delta Center as they continue their extended homestand. This time, it was the New York Rangers who handed Utah their 11th home loss this season despite a close 5-3 game between the two. Here are some takeaways from Thursday’s game.
Matias Maccelli Scores 2
Matias Maccelli might be the streakiest player in Utah’s history. There are games where he just does not look good at all and then there are games like Thursday’s where he looks like a magician with the puck and could be the best player on the ice.
Maccelli didn’t just have one goal against the Rangers but he scored twice within seven minutes during the first period. The first one came off a Ian Cole shot. He was able to grab the rebound after it got sent to the net and put it home just a little over a minute into the game. It was the quickest goal Utah has ever scored at the Delta Center.
His second goal came off of a Barrett Hayton backhand shot to the net. Maccelli was able to poke it home to get his second of the game and restore Utah’s lead temporarily.
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Maccelli is in the middle of a disappointing season. He scored 57 points last season with the Arizona Coyotes and was thought to take another step in his development when the franchise moved to Utah. However, it’s been a rough go for him now with 15 points in 43 games. Head coach André Tourigny has seen the young forward grow in his game throughout the season, though.
“I think Maccelli if you look before Christmas, he doesn’t have a lot of games where he did not finish as a plus in expected goals,” Tourigny said. “His game grew a lot. He’s way more competitive in his battles, he’s more on the inside, he’s more near the net. If you look at the goals that he scored, there are a lot of rebounds. When you score rebounds, it will not be regular. It has to be there for you. When you’re there, you get rewarded. I like the way he played.”
For the first time since Nov. 15, Maccelli has points in back-to-back games. His line with Hayton and Josh Doan looked energized on Thursday. Maybe it was the switch to include Hayton on his line and Doan’s call-up. Whatever it has been, Maccelli has looked better and his two goals in this game proved that.
A Good Second Period but a Horrible Third Period for Utah
For once, it wasn’t the second period that helped Utah get to a loss. In fact, their second period was actually decent. Utah outshot the Rangers 8-6 and Logan Cooley was able to capitalize on the power play giving his team the lead.
Instead, Utah waited until the third period to play their worst hockey. It was an ugly period as Reilly Smith opened it up with a snipe on Karel Vejmelka shorthanded to tie the game. It would only get worse as Chris Kreider scored the eventual game-winning goal halfway through the period and Artemi Panarin scored an empty netter to seal the game.
Despite this, Tourigny was proud of the way his team played. It was clear Utah played their best and played a lot more competitively than in their recent games against the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders. Tourigny thought Utah’s first half of the game was really good and the way the team should play.
“I think that we did a lot of good things, to be honest,” said Tourigny. “I’m disappointed — it’s another loss by one shot. I think that we played really good again in the first half of the game. I didn’t mind the way we played in the second half. Don’t get me wrong: Against Montreal, I didn’t like some stuff…Same thing against the Islanders. Not tonight. I think we played hard.”
Utah did once again outshoot their opponents, which is something that used to be a major flaw of theirs. Their power play looked decent going one for three. However, the Rangers were able to capitalize on their shots and Utah couldn’t. It simply comes down to that. It’s another case where the team finds themselves just a goal away from tying it up.
At the end of the day, a loss is a loss, no matter how close Utah made it. Playoffs aren’t clinched off of if a team hung around in a game. They’re made by an overall record and how many points you’re able to collect. In their past three games, Utah has none.
“The feel of it, I thought we played a pretty good game for the most part,” Cole said. “But there are no moral victories in this job. You’re judged on wins and losses and that’s it…We’re pretty frustrated in here…Gotta get through it somehow.”
Bad News All Around
With the loss, Utah is under .500 for the first time since the beginning of December. They are currently 18-19-7 and have 43 points. It has been a nightmare homestand for Utah as they have still only won one game in the past five. If you want to make matters worse, they’ve only won two in their past 10.
The horrible stats keep piling on when you factor in another loss in Delta Center. Utah is 6-11-4 in front of their passionate fanbase. It is by far still the worst in the NHL. The sports scene at Delta Center has been horrible overall. The NBA’s Utah Jazz have also compiled a bad record at home with a 3-15 record. That means fans in Salt Lake City have only seen nine wins between their two sports teams in 39 games.
“We are all trying to do the right things, we’re trying to be selfless, do what’s best for the team,” Cooley said. “At the end of the day it comes down to the result…It’s another loss on home ice…We’ve got to find a way out of this.”
The final nail in the coffin is if you look at the current wild card standings. The Colorado Avalanche have pretty much made sure that no one will touch the first wild card as they have pulled away from everyone with 55 points. The second wild card spot is currently held by the Calgary Flames with 49 points. The St. Louis Blues were able to secure a big 4-1 win over them on Thursday to pull themselves within a point of the Flames. The Vancouver Canucks also have 48 points. Utah meanwhile is slowly falling back with 43 points.
General manager Bill Armstrong has said that the expected ceiling for this team this season is the second wild card spot. If you consider that, Utah is around right where they thought they would be. However, the Coyotes had a better record last season around this time which has to frustrate fans. Utah has all the keys and tools to challenge for a second wild card spot. We’ve seen them string together wins in the past like it’s nothing as well.
However, Utah has been a very streaky team. Right now, they have been on a streak but not a very good one as the Rangers hand them their third straight loss. Even when they play their best, it hasn’t been good enough and Utah has hit a frustrating point.
“(Frustration) does boil,” Tourigny said. “That’s why I’m proud of the guys tonight because we approached that game with an unbelievable mindset…I think we deserved better tonight.”
The homestand continues with their next game as Utah searches for a way to consistently win at Delta Center. They’ll face the Blues who as previously mentioned are coming off of a big 4-1 win over the Flames. The Blues are currently 22-20-4. These two teams last met in November where Utah beat them 4-2 at Enterprise Center.
