Despite going blow to blow with the top team in the Western Conference, the Utah Hockey Club fell to the Minnesota Wild in the shootout 5-4 on Tuesday night. Despite the loss, there are some positive takeaways from the game, including a veteran continuing his scoring streak and a leader coming up big on the power play. Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s loss.
Kevin Stenlund’s Scoring Streak Continues
Kevin Stenlund wasn’t considered one of the biggest free agent signings by Utah this past summer. The Stanley Cup champion was brought in thanks to his incredible skill in the faceoff circle. However, recently he has been on a hot streak with three goals coming in his past three games.
Stenlund’s fourth goal of the season came on Tuesday with some nifty passing from Utah behind the net. Olli Määttä slid a backhanded pass to Stenlund from behind Filip Gustavsson’s crease. After a pass to Michael Carcone, the center snapped a shot that beat the Wild goaltender and gave Utah the lead.
Stenlund now has six points in 27 games. His career high is 15, which came last season with the Florida Panthers. Outside of being the best player in the faceoff circle so far this season for Utah, he’s been a massive part of this team both on and off the ice.
Related: Utah Hockey Club’s Streakiest Players This Season
“He’s awesome,” Clayton Keller said. “Such a great guy, great player. He does all the little things right. He’s probably got one of the best sticks that I’ve ever seen. He’s always in the right spots, he’s picking passes off. He’s scored a couple of goals lately, and it’s great to see him get rewarded. I can’t say enough great things about him.”
His linemate, Carcone, has been great too with three points in his past three games. The fourth line for Utah has been vital in their recent success and it’s shown with their production.
“Kerfy (Alex Kerfoot) and Carcs, they play really well,” head coach André Tourigny said. “They bring momentum to our team, and they play good minutes against any line as well. When you have a fourth line, you need to monitor who they are on the ice. It’s not the same with us. I like what they do offensively but defensively as well.”
Clayton Keller Was Money on the Power Play
Tuesday’s game was one of the best that Keller has played this season. Utah’s captain has had many great games in the NHL but has yet to have one this season with his new team. Before Tuesday’s game, Keller had only one multi-goal game this season. That changed in the third period.
On the power play early in the third, Keller sniped the puck past Gustavsson to tie the game at two. After the Wild scored, he once again worked his magic and scored his second of the game. It would also be his first game with two or more goals on the power play.
Keller has been a part of this core ever since he was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes back in 2016. He’s played with a lot of players and has worn an alternate captain patch for the past couple of seasons. However, this is his first season as captain, which is a much different animal than having an “A” or no letter at all. Every day is a new lesson for the forward as his team tries to get better every game.
“I think you learn every day,” Keller said. “We have a lot of great leaders in this locker room. It’s not just on me either. There’s guys that hold guys accountable, and guys that really helped me out. We kind of feed off each other. I really do believe that we have a close room, and there’s no hard feelings. When a guy yells at someone, it’s because we care and we want the best for them. I think we’re taking steps in that direction as well.”
For a guy like Juuso Välimäki who has struggled at points this season, it’s big for your captain to perform. He was happy to see Keller really perform on Tuesday.
“Power play is looked at to kind of come up in those big moments,” Välimäki said. “He’s our leader, and obviously a great hockey player, and that’s what he can do. I’m happy he was able to kind of get us back in and eventually on top, and that’s what he does the best.
After only scoring one goal in all of November, which was in Utah’s very last game of the month against the Vegas Golden Knights, it’s good to see Keller score again. He still leads the team in points with 26.
Struggles in Salt Lake City
In the past two seasons, the Coyotes excelled at home in Mullett Arena. It became known as one of the hardest places to play in the league. In 2022-23, they went 21-15-5 and while their record slumped a little bit in 2023-24, it was still a couple games over .500.
This season, Utah’s road record has been pretty decent, currently sitting at 8-6-2. However, at the Delta Center, the team hasn’t been as good with a 4-5-3 record. Tuesday night’s shootout loss didn’t help that at all even with Archie, the team’s puppy in attendance. Utah hasn’t won at home now since their Nov. 13 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Archie is in the building tonight 🩵🐶 #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/VyL7rbB6Yh
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) December 11, 2024
While something definitely needs to be changed about their home performance, Tourigny liked the way his team played, especially in the third period with Keller’s two goals and Välimäki’s goal. However, he didn’t like the way they played in the first two periods especially as they were outshot heavily and also turned over the puck a lot, leading to the first two Wild goals.
It should be noted, though, that Utah took one of the best teams in the league all the way to the shootout. They have points in five of their past six games. That’s not something to undermine at all.
“They’re a good team,” Tourigny said. “It’s our third game in four nights…we weren’t as energetic as we are normally. Having that pushback late in the game, even if the guys were tired, I think that was huge. Unfortunately, we could not close the deal, that will go in the baggage, we won’t forget it. Sometimes we show our age a little bit. We’re a young team and we get emotional, especially when we’re tired. It’s bittersweet. We got a big point against the number one team in our division.”
While Utah’s first couple of periods were very shaky, their third period looked like the competitive hockey we’ve been seeing recently from this group. Especially taking into consideration that Utah’s schedule has been nothing short of exhausting with the amount of traveling the team has been doing, getting a point against the best team in the Western Conference is no joke.
“There’s going to be games throughout the year where you’re a little sloppy with your execution, and make a couple of mistakes here and there,” Keller said. “But I’m proud of the way we fought. Power play stepped up, which hasn’t recently. That gets us in the right direction. I think we have a lot of confidence right now we’re heading in the right direction.”
Unfortunately for Utah, it doesn’t get easier. They’ll fly out to Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche, who are another top team in the Central Division. The Avalanche are 17-13-0 and are coming off a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team also just acquired MacKenzie Blackwood in a huge trade with the San Jose Sharks, and he could make an appearance against Utah on Thursday.
