While the Utah Hockey Club put up a fight against the best team in the NHL, they were no match for the 12-1-0 Winnipeg Jets. A familiar issue plagued Utah once again as they suffered their second straight loss on their road trip. Here are some takeaways from Tuesday night’s 3-0 loss.
Another Great Game From Karel Vejmelka
Karel Vejmelka hasn’t gotten a win yet this season but he’s well deserving of one. The goaltender has played great in every game he’s appeared in and most of those games have been against some of the toughest teams in the league like earlier in the season against the New Jersey Devils and in Tuesday’s game against the Jets. Vejmelka has also managed to keep his save percentage around .900, which is impressive considering he has yet to win a game this season.
It’s not Vejmelka’s fault that his defense has failed to keep their opponents from peppering him with shots. Utah allowed 28 shots on net during Tuesday’s game including a 12-shot first period where Vejmelka stopped every single shot that was taken by the Jets.
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While it isn’t likely that Vejmelka will be taking over the starter’s net anytime soon, the team should be proud of his performance. Both goals that were scored by the Jets on Tuesday were defensive lapses in front of him that left the Czech with little options to keep the puck out. Vejmelka probably should have a win by now, but he’s put up admirable performances this season against some of the best teams in the league.
Still Not Enough Shots
At the end of the first period, it was the same old story from Utah’s 4-3 OT loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday (Nov. 2). They were getting heavily outshot, this time with the Jets outshooting the newest team in the league 12-6.
Similar to their loss against the Golden Knights, the team got better as the game progressed, eventually outshooting the Jets in the third period 7-6. However, it was hard for Utah to get themselves out of the hole they dug for themselves. After the Jets scored late in the second period off of a Gabe Vilardi power-play goal, it was all but over as Utah failed to solve Connor Hellebuyck and his incredible play.
Nino Niederreiter scored twice in the third period including an empty netter to officially seal Utah’s chances at having any sort of comeback. It has to be mentioned that they failed to really produce much of anything on the power play. Meanwhile, the Jets went one for two on special teams including the game-winning goal.
A lot of Utah’s shots weren’t high-danger or quality shots either. There wasn’t enough net-front pressure, passing was questionable at points of time, and the whole offense just felt flat throughout the whole game.
While getting outshot 28-21 isn’t the worst and better than the shot amount Utah put up against the Golden Knights, it shouldn’t be like this every single game. If Utah wants to win games, they need to get closer or better yet, win in the shot category. It’s a trait that the team had last season in Arizona and recently, it’s something that has come back to haunt them.
Utah Is Still Building, the Jets Aren’t
It all comes down to what the whole organization has been saying as of late. The team is still building. Alex Kerfoot and head coach André Tourigny both mentioned it after their loss to the Golden Knights and general manager Bill Armstrong mentioned before the season that he doesn’t see this season as a playoff year for his group.
They aren’t wrong. Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther are only in their second full season as full-time NHLers. Maveric Lamoureux has played less than 10 games in the NHL, and some of Utah’s best prospects haven’t even touched the NHL yet.
However, the main thing you want to see this season is progression. A better season than the last. So far, it has looked like the same issues again. A lot of inconsistency and a lack of shots. If there’s anything that needs improvement, it’s fixing the issues that have lingered from last season.
Looking across the ice, the Jets are a playoff-experienced team that has most of their core together. They have everything needed to go on a playoff run. Utah will have that one day but for now, it’s understandable why the Jets shut out Utah.
It’s okay to lose to the Golden Knights and Jets in a close fashion. They are two of the best teams in the league. However, what Utah needs to focus on is building, which includes figuring out how to fix the mistakes they’ve been constantly making. Only then can they continue their path to one day being where the Jets are now.
Utah is now 5-5-3 this season. They will continue their road trip as they take on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. The Blues are 7-6-0 this season and are coming off a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
