Playing playoff teams is no easy task. Playing the best team in the regular season last season is even harder. Yet the Utah Hockey Club didn’t bow down to their competition, instead playing a back-and-forth game against the New York Rangers which eventually ended in a 6-5 overtime winner for the newest team in the NHL. Utah has now won three straight games to begin their franchise’s history. Here are some takeaways from Saturday night’s win against the Rangers.
Utah’s Power-Play Magic
While they only scored once among their four opportunities, there’s no doubt that one of Utah’s biggest strengths during the game was their power play. The best showing of their man advantage was during their second-period power play. The team had complete control of the game and was dominating the play. Eventually, Nick Schmaltz fed it over to Dylan Guenther right on the top of the left faceoff circle who sniped it home, putting Utah up 5-3 at the time.
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Guenther’s goal was his fifth of the season which currently leads the NHL. Guenther is also the ninth player in NHL history to score five or more goals in his team’s first three games of the season at age 21 or younger. It’s impressive what the young forward has done already this season. He’s become almost unstoppable as he continues his early season tear across the league.
While their penalty kill wasn’t as good as it was against the New York Islanders, it wasn’t bad, only allowing one goal on three opportunities. Last season as the Arizona Coyotes, the team often struggled on special teams. Now, they’ve mastered it, making it one of their strengths.
Jack McBain Bringing the Pain
While Jack McBain didn’t play the whole game, he sure made an impact on it. Early in the second, Logan Cooley slid Vladislav Kolyachonok a nice pass. Kolyachonok took a shot that bounced off Ian Cole and against the boards. Rebounding off Vincent Trocheck’s body, the puck landed on McBain’s stick where the forward then tucked it in with a backhander to score Utah’s second goal of the game.
It wasn’t McBain’s only moment of the game. The forward fought Adam Edstrom later in the period right after Michael Kesselring fought Sam Carrick. However, due to McBain starting the fight right after Kesselring’s fight started, the former Minnesota Wild draft pick was ejected from the game.
While McBain didn’t play a ton in the game against the Rangers, he was still a crucial part of helping Utah get the win. He might not be the flashiest player or the highest-scoring player on the team but McBain provides great physical defensive play to anyone’s team he’s on. He’s a pest to play against which every team hates but wants on their own team at the same time. Plus, he’s known to chip in a little offense sometimes as well such as Saturday’s game.
Captain Keller Seals the Deal
After the Rangers scored late in the third to tie the game, the two teams went to overtime. After good chances from both teams, Clayton Keller found himself behind the net with the puck. Gliding to the right side of Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers’ defense was positioned, thinking that Utah’s captain would pass the puck. However, Keller decided to do something different, cutting to the front of the net and roofing a backhander shot top shelf to give Utah their second straight overtime winner and their third win of the season.
Keller had also scored the third goal for Utah earlier in the game, thanks to a great play and pass from Alex Kerfoot. Keller now has six points on the season including three goals. The captain has once again had a great start to the season.
Barrett Hayton has been a big part of Keller’s line and so far this season, he’s had the best couple of NHL games of his career. He scored his third goal of the season on Saturday and has racked up five points in three games. If Hayton can all of a sudden become a top-line center for Utah and live up to where he was drafted in 2018, it could make this Utah team even more deadly. However, even at his play right now, he’s doing more than enough to help his team thrive.
Utah has now won their first three games in franchise history. They are the first team since the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Arenas to score five or more goals in their first three games in history. What’s even more impressive is that the Arenas and Canadiens set that record in 1917.
Besides currently being the best team in their division, Guenther leads the entire league in goals and Keller is tied for the league lead in points. Taking down the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners in the Rangers is no easy feat. It’s been a dream beginning for the Utah franchise and its fans.
Utah will finish their eastern seaboard road trip on Monday when they play the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are 3-1-0 and are coming off a 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals.
