Despite being sky high after a big win against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Utah Hockey Club fell back to reality after 40 minutes in Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. A tough final 20 minutes killed any chances of Utah winning the game as they lost their second game against the Knights this month. Here are some takeaways from Friday night’s (Nov. 15) loss.
The Second Line Strikes Again
It’s no secret that the combination of Logan Cooley, Matias Maccelli, and Dylan Guenther has looked really good on a line together. That didn’t stop on Saturday when Cooley opened up the scoring for Utah.
Maccelli was able to cut to the front of the net and slide a nifty backhand pass to Cooley who sent the puck to the back of the net. It was Cooley’s third goal of the season and Maccelli’s third point in the past four games.
The promotion of Maccelli to the second line makes a lot of sense. The Finnish forward isn’t a fourth-line player and thrives by playing with guys like Cooley and Guenther who have speed and like shooting the puck, which is something Guenther in particular thrives off of. Despite a rocky start to the season for Maccelli, it seems like things have gotten better ever since he started to play on the second line.
Related: Meet the Newest Member of Utah HC: Archie
For Guenther, he’s now got four points in his past four games, as well. Ever since teams started to figure out that he loves winding up for a powerful shot and in response, defended him so he couldn’t do that, the Edmonton native has almost reinvented himself. Out of those four points, only one of them is a goal. The rest are all assists. Guenther is a great scorer but he’s also an all-around great player. It goes back to the point head coach André Tourigny made a couple of weeks ago.
“I think he’s a hell of a player,” Tourigny said. “He scores goals. That’s almost what I don’t like because people see him as just a goal scorer. He’s way more than that. He passes the puck well, he defends well, he works hard, he has a good forecheck, he has a great stick, he’s good on the PK. He does way more than shooting. I mean, that said, it’s not a bad thing to have that skill, to shoot the puck that way. But he’s way more than just a shooter.”
Utah’s second line is becoming a fan favorite to watch. When the team begins to start playing consistently competitive hockey, it could be the best line for Utah.
Mikhail Sergachev Could Be Utah’s Best Player
Mikhail Sergachev has been received by fans with mixed emotions. One side of the fanbase loves the Russian defenseman. The other side looks at what Utah gave up for him in the summer trade that sent him from the Tampa Bay Lightning and sent back JJ Moser, Conor Geekie, and a first-round pick and doesn’t think he’s living up to the expectations that were placed on him as the number one defenseman. While it’s fair to be disappointed that Moser has had a great start to the season for another team and Geekie has looked fairly decent for the Lightning so far, there’s no reason to hate on Sergachev.
Sergachev is currently fourth in the NHL’s average time on ice (ATOI) leaders with an average playing time of 25:31 (which is almost half of a game). Not only is that the highest ATOI he’s ever had, but no one else on Utah is even close to beating that number because, arguably, there’s no one else who can do what Sergachev does.
Sergachev’s offense has been really good so far, as well. It showed in Friday’s game where on the power play, instead of instantly shooting the puck, he patiently waited and then unloaded his shot, scoring Utah’s second goal of the game. His goal-scoring has been impressive, too. Sergachev’s career high in goals is a total of 10 which he accomplished in the 2019-20 season and again in the 2022-23 season. He’s already got four goals this season and we’re only 18 games into it.
Many might point to his defense but again, he’s playing a majority of the game for Utah. Of course, he’s human and some goals are going to get past him. At the end of the day, he’s going to try his best to stop them. That was on full display when he blocked a shot with his head against the Hurricanes on Wednesday.
Sergachev isn’t just a great defenseman. He’s one of Utah’s best players and he’s only getting better and better as the season goes on.
Utah Didn’t Play a Full 60 Minutes
At least Utah wasn’t outshot this time around, which is consistently the case. Instead, a disastrous final 20 minutes ruined the great first 40 minutes Utah had against the Knights. It stems back to the penalty kill.
Although being great for the past couple of games, the penalty kill was the reason why the Knights tied this game. The penalty kill for Utah allowed the Knights to get too close to the net with too much space and they capitalized on that. Tomas Hertl was right in front of Karel Vejmelka during both of the goals and was able to move in and tuck the puck right into the net.
While those goals helped tie the game, it was William Karlsson’s late-tipped goal that was the heartbreaker for Utah with only a couple of minutes left in the game. Karlsson scored again into the empty net to seal the deal. However, you could’ve felt it coming with the Knights playing with desperation and Utah not playing as well as they did in the first two periods.
Obviously, the penalty kill was a huge issue on Friday but the lack of consistency is really killing Utah. One second, they’re being helplessly outshot by the Hurricanes yet they manage to squeak in a win. The next second, they’re playing a great game against the Knights but then fall apart in the final 20 to give up the win. There needs to be some sort of consistency for Utah. They’ve become a very hot and cold team and that’s not the type of team that makes the playoffs.
Utah will have the whole weekend off to dissect what went wrong in Friday’s game. The team will finish out their mini home stretch of games when the Washington Capitals come to town on Monday (Nov. 18). The Capitals are in the midst of a really good season with an 11-4-1 record. They are coming off a 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche but will play the Knights on Sunday (Nov. 17) before heading up to Salt Lake City.
