Utah is back in the win column. A gutsy third-period effort against the Calgary Flames on Thursday earned them a 5-3 win, ending their five-game losing streak. It was a big game for Utah. Here are some takeaways from Thursday night’s game.
The Sheriff Is Back in Town
Lawson Crouse has been a consistent scorer for the past couple of years. He has put up 30-plus points in his past three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes. However, this season, he has really struggled with Utah. Before Thursday’s game, he only had seven points in 37 games and hadn’t scored in the past eight games.
A nice pass from Ian Cole changed that narrative. Crouse received the pass and snapped it home to score his first goal since Nov. 29. It would be the first goal of the game as well, giving him and his line motivation going into the rest of the crucial game.
The first goal wouldn’t be enough for Crouse. In the third period, Olli Määttä found Nick Bjugstad entering the Flames’ zone. Bjugstad dropped it for Crouse who snapped the puck home once again for his second goal of the game. It ended up being the game-winner.
The third line has been under a lot of scrutiny over the past month due to its lack of production and overall lack of chemistry. Something needed to change between Bjugstad, Crouse, and Maccelli. Tuesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers provided that opportunity with illness taking Clayton Keller out of the lineup. Head coach André Tourigny inserted Liam O’Brien and moved Maccelli up to the first line. It worked as the line was one of the most dangerous in the 4-1 loss.
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With illness hitting Maccelli before Thursday’s game, it was the perfect opportunity to keep the new line together. Obviously, it worked out well.
“They played with pace,” Tourigny said. “They had no hesitation in their game. They were skating. They were hard on the forecheck. They made plays with the puck and put pucks at the net. Big man (Crouse) came up with two big goals. Happy for him.”
For Crouse, it felt good to get the two goals and break his scoring drought. However, it felt even better to win.
“It felt good. Feels better to get a win. That’s a big win. We needed that and something to build off going into Dallas.”
It certainly is a big win for the team. It is something for them to build off of. It is also something the third line can use to build off of. Hopefully, they can continue their newfound production heading into a crucial matchup.
No Matter, It’s Just Olli Määttä With 2 Assists
Määttä isn’t a scorer but that’s okay. He’s been dominant on the blue line with his defensive play. Besides Mikhail Sergachev, it could be argued that Määttä is the best defensive defenseman on Utah currently. He’s someone who makes a lot of smart plays in his own zone that sometimes eventually leads to a Utah goal. That is exactly what happened during Thursday’s game except the Finnish defenseman actually got some credit on the scoresheet.
Määttä got the assist on Crouse’s game-winning goal. However, he had another assist in the game as well. He took a shot near the blue line to start the third period and Keller ended up tipping in the puck for the game-tying goal.
When Määttä got traded to Utah at the beginning of the season from the Detroit Red Wings for a third-round pick, many thought it was an overpayment. However, he has fit in perfectly with his new team and become an important piece for their blue line, especially with John Marino, Maveric Lamoureux, and Sean Durzi sidelined with injury.
“He’s been great ever since he got traded here,” Clayton Keller said. “He’s great on the breakout. He’s got some poise. He gets puck into our hands with speed and he’s a guy you want to be out there with.”
His time with Utah has been nothing short of great. Not only has he played well but he also was named to Team Finland for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Määttä’s contract ends after this season. When general manager Bill Armstrong first acquired the defenseman, it was probably with the thought of only keeping him on the team until the blue line gets healthy again. However, thanks to his play, Määttä might have a permanent spot on Utah past this season.
Utah Extinquishes Losing Streak with Big Third Period
Utah’s big 5-3 win against the Flames snaps a five-game losing streak and also gives them their first win of the road trip. There’s no sugarcoating that it is a massive win for the team because the Flames are one of the teams alongside Utah competing for a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
It wasn’t an easy win. Utah actually didn’t play well in the beginning. Bad penalties and a poor performance by the defense put the Flames up by one after two periods. However, Utah has been known to come back and surprise teams. That’s exactly what they did when Keller and Crouse scored goals in the third period to get the lead. Kevin Stenlund’s empty net goal sealed the deal and closed out a hardworking third period for his team.
“It was a huge win,” Keller said. “We haven’t played our best lately…I think we did a great job right from the start of the third just being simple and getting to the net. Sometimes you’ve got to grind those out and that was a huge win for us.”
Tourigny knows the urgency wasn’t there from his team in the beginning. However, they were resilient and it paid off in the third period. When Utah is able to play to their full ability, they’re the well-structured and competitive team Tourigny knows they are.
“Sometimes you have some nights or some stretch where the urgency drops,” Touringy said. “For us, it’s critical. When our urgency drops, we’re not the same team. I really liked the urgency we had in the third. I think we played a good structure game, especially in the third.”
It’s a big win to get for Utah. It puts them right back into the thick of things and denies the Flames from gaining any ground in the wild card hunt. It also instills a lot of confidence into the whole group heading into their final game of the road trip and a long home stretch as well.
Utah will now fly south to Texas to play the Dallas Stars. The Stars are a familiar opponent for Utah. The two have played each other twice this season with the Stars winning both games by a single goal. They are 23-13-1 and are coming off a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
