Two months ago, the Colorado Avalanche dominated the Utah Hockey Club with a 5-1 win. However, on Thursday, Utah looked nothing like that team that lost in October, defeating the Avalanche 4-1. A complete team effort continued their winning ways on the road in Denver. Here are some takeaways from Thursday night’s win.
2 Goals for Dylan Guenther
Dylan Guenther has chilled out on goal scoring but he’s been silently racking up points. Entering Thursday’s game, he had four points in his past three games. However, Guenther decided to break his six-game goal-less streak against the Avalanche by potting two goals.
Guenther’s first goal was a weird deflection that went way past Scott Wedgewood into the open net. It wasn’t the prettiest goal but it ended up being a big one for Utah to get their scoring started.
His second came on the power play. After new Avalanche Givani Smith was sent to the box, Utah’s special teams quickly set up. A nice passing play from Logan Cooley to Nick Schmaltz led to Schmaltz sliding the puck right to Guenther who ripped it and scored. It’s one that he found easy to score.
“Just a really nice play by Schamltzy and Cools with the quick puck movement,” Guenther said. “My mom probably could have scored that one.”
Guenther has played with Cooley ever since last season in Arizona. Now with his roommate McBain on his line, his line has been the best line for Utah. For Guenther, everyone on the line provides something different that makes each player better.
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“We talk a lot on the bench,” Guenther said. “We’re really good buddies, and we provide different aspects. Bainer can finish. He’s really good in front of the net. Cools is super skilled, super good with the puck. When we’re using our legs and skating, we’re successful.”
Head coach André Tourigny had seen the Guenther-McBain-Cooley line play well throughout this season. However, he’s liked it even more recently, especially in their game against the Avalanche because they have matured and have started to play a great two-way game.
“What I liked more tonight than recently, they were outstanding defensively, and they get rewarded offensively,” Tourigny said. “They’re young, they’re really competitive, they want to do the right thing. Tonight, they were rock solid defensively and really good offensively.”
Guenther’s mom was in the building as well as part of the team’s mentor road trip. Last year, during the Arizona Coyotes’ mentor road trip, Guenther played really well in front of her as well. It’s been a good luck charm for Utah’s top player.
Guenther ended up scoring three points in total on Thursday night, tallying an assist on Vladislav Kolyachonok’s goal. He now leads the entire team in points with 28. He also still leads the team in goals with 12.
Vladislav Kolyachonok’s Return to the Lineup
For Utah on Thursday night, there was no better story than Kolyachonok. The defenseman hadn’t played since Nov. 24. With Robert Bortuzzo getting injured in Utah’s game against the Minnesota Wild, Kolyachonok slotted in.
Kolyachonok ended up playing spectacularly on a pairing with Jusso Välimäki. A wrister from the blue line ended up giving him his second goal of the season, his first since Oct. 19. It was a great moment for the 2019 second-round pick and it was even better when Tourigny said he would be playing in their next game against the San Jose Sharks, despite Utah picking up Dakota Mermis on waivers earlier on Thursday.
“He was really good,” Tourigny said. “Honestly, great for him. Not just his goal but he made good plays. He was solid without the puck. He made a good breakout pass. He was predictable, pretty good for him.”
During his time being a healthy scratch, Kolyachonok still put in all the work and more as he tried his best to be better every day. He would be on the ice early and get off late. He would work with coaches trying to figure out what can make him better. In the end, it paid off.
“Even if you’re out of the lineup, you’ll always be ready to play,” Kolyachonok said. “Every practice, you’re thinking, what are you going to do in the game? All those exercises and drills prepare you to play well when you get a chance. I just tried to stay positive. My teammates supported me. I’m very thankful for them.”
Kolyachonok is only 23 years old and has started to make a dent in being a full-time NHLer. After ending his first night back in the lineup, defending against players like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, and coming away with a goal, there’s no question he should be in the lineup for the foreseeable future.
Lovin’ the Road
In the past couple of weeks, Utah has played some of their best hockey on the road. They have now won five straight games, dating back to their win against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal on Nov. 26. They are 9-6-2 overall on the road this season.
Utah is currently on its longest point streak as well which dates back to their 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 7. They’ve been playing some really good hockey down the stretch and it’s shown as they’ve now passed the St. Louis Blues for fifth place in the Central Division. Utah is only three points back of the Avalanche for fourth place in the division.
“It’s great,” Guenther said. “We were talking about the importance of it (the win) before the game. So, it’s nice to stick with it and close it out against a really good team, especially on the road.”
The Avalanche beat Utah 5-1 back in October but Thursday’s game bore no resemblance to that loss. Despite having one of the best power plays in the league, the Avalanche couldn’t figure out Karel Vejmelka who made beautiful save after beautiful save and only let in one goal near the end of the game. The penalty kill is still something Utah is trying to work on but they’ve been getting better.
“I think we are trying to work on it during practice,” Vejmelka said. “Every opponent defends differently, but we have a great pre-scout before every game. I think we still need to work on it but it’s getting better.”
The massive win against the Avalanche is a big confidence builder for this Utah team. While they still have one more game to play on the road, they haven’t played or felt better this season especially with Vejmelka playing some of his best hockey.
“Every game is important, but those division games are a special challenge,” Kolyachonok said. “It was a great game tonight and the great performance by Veggie is unreal.”
Utah will finish off their mini road trip on Saturday when they visit the Sharks. The Sharks are 11-16-5 this season but are coming off a 4-3 win over the Blues.
