Going up against one of the best teams in the league, the Utah Hockey Club weren’t given much of a chance to win the game on Monday. However, Utah showed the hockey world that there’s a reason why they’re still in the playoff hunt as they scored three unanswered goals and pushed the Toronto Maple Leafs all the way to a shootout before falling by a final score of 4-3. The team earned a valuable point in the shootout loss as 18 games now remain in the season for them. Here are some takeaways from Monday night’s game.
Michael Kesselring’s Big Fight
After Steven Lorentz tipped in the third Maple Leafs goal midway through the second, it felt like they really had all the momentum, and Utah was set to lose the game. It was a great Maple Leafs team that they were facing off against. One that will make a run at the Stanley Cup. However, everything changed with a simple fight.
Simon Benoit and Michael Kesselring dropped the gloves right after the goal was reviewed for a high stick. Benoit made a risky move by opening the fight with a Superman punch that ultimately failed, and Kesselring proceeded to lay a couple of good punches on him before he was slammed headfirst onto the ice.
Clayton Keller had seen the punch before when Kevin Bieksa did it to Radko Gudas a while back. Kesselring called Benoit’s attempt “interesting.” Whatever you think, Kesselring’s fight sparked a new life in the team that put them back into the game.
Ever since the return of Sean Durzi and John Marino, Kesselring has been playing less due to being moved to the bottom pair. It’s not because he’s bad. It’s because you have to allocate time to your top defensemen. With that change, Kesselring has been trying to find ways to make an impact in the game. On Monday, he did just that.
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“I’m playing a little less, so I got to find ways to impact the game,” Kesselring said. “I thought it was a good opportunity. He’s a tough kid, and respect to him for fighting. He doesn’t have to when it’s nothing. I’m just trying to get the boys going a little bit. We need every point we can get. So it’s huge to get the one.”
Keller thinks Kesselring has stepped up big and, despite getting less ice time than normal, is still making a big impact in each game. As the captain of the team, he knows Kesselring is such a big part of the culture in Utah, and the fight really helped the team get going after a disappointing first period.
“He’s been unbelievable,” Keller said. “He’s gotten better every single game since the break. He’s such a skilled player. He’s big, he can skate. He wants to make plays. He’s always joining the rush. He’s got a bomb. We’re really lucky to have him. He’s a super fun guy to play with, great in the room. Him stepping up tonight was unbelievable and shows what kind of guy he is.”
Head coach André Tourigny has spoken to the team about being resilient and staying in the game. Kesselring’s fight was a prime example of how he wants his team to rise to the occasion.
“We talked at the beginning of the season to the team about managing the game and learning and stuff like that,” Touringy said. “That moment of the game, the emotion of the situation, their goal, the fight and the way the guys were talking on the bench. They had the right message on being disciplined, being resilient, and staying engaged, and staying with it was unreal. That’s kudos to the guys. They were unbelievable.”
Kesselring’s massive impact in the game shows that even with the smallest bit of ice time, any player can change the course of the game in a matter of seconds. It also shows how devoted he is to the team despite ice time being taken away from him. Kesselring is still young, and it seems like he takes another step in his development every season. Last night was a prime example of why he is a massive part of Utah’s blue line.
A Redeeming Second Period
After Kesselring’s fight, it seemed like everything just turned on for Utah. Michael Carcone started his shift on a breakaway. While he missed the shot, it wouldn’t be long until he got on the scoresheet. Josh Doan shot the puck towards the net, and Carcone tipped it in to cut the Maple Leafs’ lead down to two.
Just 47 seconds later, Olli Määttä’s shot was tipped right past Joseph Woll by Nick Schmaltz, making the score 3-2. After the Maple Leafs took a timeout, all Utah needed was a power play to tie the game up as Barrett Hayton tipped in Mikhail Sergachev’s shot.
All it took was less than 20 minutes for Utah to redeem themselves from a horrible first period. It’s even more impressive if you factor in the last second period that the team played, which was a horrible effort against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Of course, it was the Kesselring fight that really got the team going. Arguably, Utah wouldn’t have come back if it wasn’t for the momentum the fight gave them. It shows how connected Utah is as a team and the momentum that they gained to see one of their own stick up for the whole group.
“We’re a big family here,” Keller said. “We all love each other. It’s motivating when you see that, it gets you going. When we’re down a little bit, they were up a couple of goals there and he got us juiced there. We were able to carry that momentum for the rest of the period and even into the start of the third.”
It wasn’t just the offense and the defense making an impact. In the third period, John Tavares managed to get a beautiful pass between his legs to Morgan Rielly, who had a wide-open net. Somehow, Karel Vejmelka was able to lunge and get part of his stick on the puck and keep it out. It was the save of the season for the goaltender and potentially the save of his career. Tourigny isn’t surprised, though, as he’s seen Vejmelka help carry the team numerous times throughout his career.
“In his first year, he had a game in Winnipeg,” Tourigny said. “You should find the tape of that game. That’s a clinic. That was unreal. We won 1-0. We had no business being in that game. It was unbelievable. He can play at that level. Now he’s getting more consistent and playing at a higher level on a consistent basis.”
The fans were also very supportive. There were numerous “Veggie” chants, and during the three unanswered goals, the place was as loud as could be. People don’t realize it, but an engaged crowd helps a lot. It gets the players motivated and creates encouragement and a drive to win the game for the ones who support you the most.
“It was an unbelievable crowd tonight,” Keller said. “They were engaged. They were pumped up for the fight, and then we got two quick ones after that, and they were super loud and supportive. It means the world to us and it motivated us even more to keep fighting and pushing for the full 60.”
Even on the bench, Tourigny could feel the passion and support from the crowd in Delta Center. It gives him pride to coach the team in front of a supportive fanbase, and it really gets his players playing at their very best.
“It’s huge,” Tourigny said. “I think it’s the boost you need. Every detail, every ounce of energy or momentum you can get in those kinds of situations, it’s huge. I think our crowd, the way they push and the energy they give us and the pride they give us to play in front of them, I think it’s huge. We’re so grateful to have that opportunity. I think that it fills up our tank all the time.”
The second half of the game was all Utah. They completely dominated and earned the regulation point. It shows why they’re close to the playoffs and the bright future this team has.
Won the Hockey Game, Lost the Skills Competition
Unfortunately for Utah, it was the shootout competition that once again ruined their night. While Keller scored a nice backhand goal in the third round, Mitch Marner scored right after to win the game for the Maple Leafs. It is one of the areas that Utah still hasn’t improved in. They are 1-3 this season in the shootout and have only scored in half of those attempts.
Still, it brings in the argument that Utah tied the hockey game and lost in the skills competition as the shootout is more about whether an individual player can beat a goaltender. That’s Tourigny’s belief. He understands why the shootout exists but also acknowledges the fact that no NHL coach likes it.
“We didn’t lose a hockey game,” Tourigny said. “We lost a skills competition, which has to happen. That’s the reality of our league. We can talk here about 10 good reasons why the shootout is there. It’s good for the show, it’s good for the fans, it’s good for the game. All good. I’m good with that. With that said, I cannot go in front of our team and say, ‘Hey, we lost.’ We didn’t lose. We lost a skill competition.”
Utah does gain a point, which means they are now three points back of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. They are on a three-game point streak and have only failed to earn a point in two games since the 4-Nations break.
Here is your daily look at the Western Conference wild card battle after Utah’s 4-3 shootout loss to Toronto.
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) March 11, 2025
Utah earns a point and is now three points back of the wild card spot. No other team played tonight but the Wild, Canucks, and Ducks do play tomorrow.#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/kKSiffJpLg
The team should be proud of themselves for how they played. The Maple Leafs are a great team. They are Stanley Cup contenders. They made trades to acquire great players like Brandon Carlo and Scott Laughton for a reason. The fact that Utah managed to score three unanswered goals and take them all the way to the shootout speaks volumes about the team especially considering the fact that they lost to the Maple Leafs earlier in the season 3-2, when they didn’t have players like Matthews or Matthew Knies in the lineup due to injury.
“I thought in Toronto, we let them dictate the game,” Kesselring said. “I thought tonight we dictated the game a lot more, especially after the first. It’s a really talented group over there. We should be proud of ourselves. It was a skills competition at the end. It’s tough, but it’s a big point, and hopefully can build off it.”
Tourigny knows the Maple Leafs are aiming for a Stanley Cup and believe they can win it, which is why they made a big splash at the trade deadline. So he knows that his team playing the way they did shows how much they’ve grown since the last time the two met back in November.
“If you look at the last time we played them, they had a bunch of players that were not playing,” Tourigny said. “Matthews and Knies did not play. They’re a good team. They made trades because they want to win the Stanley Cup. They believe in themselves. We made a huge character come back, and we showed how resilient we were and how important it is for us to stick together and to be there for each other.”
If Utah can play that way against the Maple Leafs, they can certainly make a push for the playoffs. It’s going to be tough, but it should be because only the best teams make the playoffs.
Now Utah will turn their attention to the Anaheim Ducks who roll into Delta Center on Wednesday. While the Ducks might not look the best on paper, they’re still a resilient team who have managed to stay in the race. Although Utah is perfectly content with earning a point from Monday night, they’re hungry for more and are eager to try to get both of them on Wednesday.
“We’re fighting for our lives,” Keller said. “Every point matters. We’ll take this point and carry it over to Anaheim. That’s going to be a massive game for us. We’re all really excited for it and super confident.”
The Ducks are 28-28-7 this season and are seven points back of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. They are coming off a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues but will play the Washington Capitals before traveling up to Utah. These two teams last met in December where Utah lost to the Ducks 4-3 in a shootout.
