Even with two of their best defensemen out for the foreseeable future, the Utah Hockey Club and their defense made sure to show that they’re still a formidable opponent. With both of their goals coming from their six defensemen, Utah came up big in overtime against the Boston Bruins in their second-ever home game on Saturday night. It was one of the better games the newest NHL team has played this season. Here are some takeaways from the 2-1 win.
Utah’s Defensemen Stepping Up
With the injury to Sean Durzi and the update on the injury to John Marino, Utah’s deep blue line that everyone thought would improve thanks to the offseason moves has all of a sudden gotten thin. However, Saturday’s game may have had people think otherwise.
It was Vladislav Kolyachonok‘s time to shine against the Bruins. The Belarusian defenseman impressed head coach Andre Tourigny so much in preseason that he kept him on the roster going into the season. Tourigny’s gamble has paid off so far as Kolyachonok has played decently in a bottom-pairing role while the team continues without some of its best defensemen.
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Kolyachonok received a nice pass from Nick Schmaltz and turned on the jets entering the Bruins’ zone. Closing in on the net, the defenseman took a nice hard shot with his backhand to get it past Jeremy Swayman for the game-tying goal with five minutes remaining. It was a highlight reel goal that ended up on all of the NHL’s social media platforms.
Both of the goals scored by Utah were scored by defensemen which is impressive considering most of their defensemen are injured including their best offensive weapon on the blue line in Durzi. It wasn’t just Kolyachonok who was having a big night. Most of the other defensemen had really good games including Mikhail Sergachev who was blocking shots, even taking some really hard ones that sent him to the bench for a couple of minutes.
While the blue line seems to be a weak point for this team once again, Utah is determined to make sure that isn’t so. Even if more injuries happen to the blue line which I’m sure Tourigny is hoping doesn’t happen, they do have some resources in the American Hockey League (AHL). Maveric Lamoureux, who was drafted in the first round a couple of years back, has looked really good so far this season, even scoring his first pro goal on Saturday against the Texas Stars. Artem Duda is another intriguing name although he might need more experience with the Roadrunners. In any case, while losing Durzi and Marino is huge for Utah, they shouldn’t be underestimated with the players that remain healthy.
Kesselring Seals It in OT
It was one of Utah’s homegrown defensemen, Michael Kesselring, who sealed the deal for his team in overtime. With the team coming off of a power play, Logan Cooley was able to send a quick pass across the zone to the American defenseman who sent the puck flying behind Swayman for the OT winner. It’s Kesselring’s second goal with Utah and his fourth point in six games.
Kesselring was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 2018. He never appeared in a game with the Oilers and was later packaged up with a draft pick and traded to the Arizona Coyotes for Nick Bjugstad and Cam Dineen in 2023. After the trade, the defenseman appeared in a couple of games in 2022-23 for the team but really made a big impact the following season when he was called up from the Tucson Roadrunners early in the season. Kesselring impressed and has remained a fixture on their blue line ever since.
Kesselring’s OT winner brings home a big win for Utah. It was another win against a playoff team from last season and a feared opponent in the Eastern Conference. It also gives them more points to start the season off in a decent place in the standings.
Utah’s Home Streak Begins
Perhaps the big thing for the players besides the win is that they are finally back on home ice. Utah hasn’t played at the Delta Center since early October for their home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s been a long road trip that has sent them through a challenging three-game eastern seaboard swing and then a trip immediately after to the other side of the country to play the Anaheim Ducks.
Not only will the players be sleeping in their own homes which is good for the locker room energy but fans will finally get to see their new team for an extended period of time. Four of their next five games are at Delta Center with the exception of a quick flight out to southern California again to play the LA Kings. That could be a huge factor for this team who hasn’t lost a game in their new building yet and has played some of their best hockey this season in Salt Lake City.
Utah is now 4-1-1 in their first six games of their inaugural season which currently sits them second in the Central Division right behind the Dallas Stars. They’ll turn their attention now to the Ottawa Senators who are currently 3-2-0 to begin their season. The Senators are coming off a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
