Wednesday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks became another example for the Utah Hockey Club of how penalties and bad defense can really hurt your chances of getting a win. Despite some great performances from some individuals, it wasn’t a pretty game for Utah as injuries continued to pop up. The last game of the road trip showcased the very best and worst of the team. Here are some takeaways from Utah’s 5-4 overtime loss against the Ducks.
Penalties Continue to Be Utah’s Downfall
There’s almost nowhere else to point to for the causes of Utah’s losses. Penalties continue to hamper the team. It doesn’t matter what’s happening on the ice, once Utah takes a penalty, it causes momentum to shift and gives complete control to their opponents.
Utah is still one of the most penalized teams in the league currently. In the past two games alone, they have taken 12 penalties. Against the Ducks, they took five. While the Ducks failed to capitalize on the power play, it still gave them momentum.
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The defense has also been concerning. A lot of the goals that were given up on Wednesday night were due to poor positioning by the defense. While pairings were juggled up due to an injury to Sean Durzi, it didn’t look good at all as the Ducks were able to have their way in the Utah zone.
Defense and penalties have continued to be critical reasons why Utah has struggled in the past two games. Arguably, they didn’t deserve to get the point from overtime due to their numerous errors and mistakes throughout the game. If they want to get better, they need to improve their special teams.
Barrett Hayton’s Successful Start
Barrett Hayton’s story has been interesting so far in his career. The forward was drafted in 2018, sixth overall. After a disappointing first couple of seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, he broke out in 2022-23, finding chemistry on a line with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. He ended up scoring 43 points in 82 games.
The next season, Hayton was out of the lineup for a good chunk of time due to an injury. He only played 33 games, scoring only 10 goals. However, with the move to Salt Lake City, the team re-signed him to a two-year contract.
Now, so far this season, Hayton has been living up to where he was drafted. He’s been playing some great hockey once again on a line with Keller and Schmaltz. After scoring against the Ducks, he has six points in five games, four of which are goals. Last season, he only had three goals all season. It’s the best hockey the Peterborough native has played during his time with the Coyotes and Utah.
While continuing the surprising above-a-point-per-game production is a lot to ask, if Hayton can even get close to it every night, Utah could have another weapon to help them score. For now, though, he is doing his best to help his team while on the first line and is quickly becoming one of Utah’s best centers.
Injuries Piling Up
After Durzi was injured in the game against the New Jersey Devils, red flags started to pop up about Utah’s defense. It didn’t help that John Marino is still injured and has yet to play a game for the team. That leaves two of some of your best defensemen out of the lineup.
Robert Bortuzzo was signed by Utah in the offseason to a one-year, two-way deal to be a defenseman they could rely on to help the team gain experience and step into the lineup if they need someone. He did just that against the Ducks, playing his first game with Utah.
Unfortunately for him, it would be a nightmare scenario of a game. Bortuzzo slid in front of Mason McTavish to stop him from taking a shot, taking a tripping penalty while doing it. However, Bortuzzo left the game after that sequence of events, assisted by some of Utah’s trainers to get into the locker room. He wouldn’t return to the game.
Before the game on Wednesday, Utah called up Patrik Koch from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. Head coach Andre Tourigny was impressed by his training camp and was able to reward him by making the Slovak defenseman the first-ever player in franchise history to be called up from the Roadrunners to the NHL.
Now, with a potential Bortuzzo injury, that leaves three of Utah’s NHL-ready defensemen out of the lineup which isn’t a great spot to be in. With Koch called up, that leaves another spot to be filled up to replace Bortuzzo. Utah could call up Kevin Connauton who has NHL experience or they could give the spot to Maveric Lamoureux who is one of the most exciting rookies Utah has on the blue line. Either way, they’ll need to figure their defense out soon as they continue to play tough opponents.
With the overtime loss to the Ducks, Utah is 3-1-1 to start the season. That also completes their four-game road trip as they head back home to Salt Lake City. They will play the Boston Bruins next at the Delta Center on Saturday. The Bruins are currently 3-2-0 and are coming off a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
