The Utah Hockey Club’s losing streak extended on Friday night, as the team fell 3-2 in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets. It marked Utah’s second straight loss in overtime, continuing their struggles at Delta Center. Here are some takeaways from Friday night’s game.
Alex Kerfoot Adjusting Well to New Role
Alex Kerfoot isn’t the scorer he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s not even the same scorer he was last season with the Arizona Coyotes. A mere 16 points in 51 points is on pace for his lowest totals since the 2020-21 56-game-shortened season. However, it’s not always about scoring in the NHL. In the past couple of games, Kerfoot has shown why he’s respected in the Utah locker room and why he’s a player who could get some interest come the trade deadline.
Before Utah’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, head coach André Tourigny switched up the lines, promoting Kerfoot to the top six. He was added to the second line with Barrett Hayton and Josh Doan. Immediately, he made an impact. The second line looked fantastic against the Penguins and was arguably Utah’s best line during the 3-2 overtime loss. Doan has enjoyed playing with Kerfoot, calling him a really good hockey player.
“Playing with Kerfy, he’s similar in a way to (Matias) Maccelli, where I was playing with him, where they both hold onto pucks really well and they make plays,” Doan said.
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With Logan Cooley sustaining an injury in the game, Kerfoot’s play must’ve wowed Tourigny enough for him to be placed on the top line. The move worked, as Kerfoot banged home a John Marino shot from the blue line for his first goal since Dec. 30.
Cooley’s injury will hold him out indefinitely, and with Dylan Guenther also still out, Utah is going to need someone to hold down the fort on the top line. It seems like they have that player with Kerfoot. While his production won’t be anything spectacular, he’s shown that he can adapt to any challenge that comes his way, and he’s able to fit in well with any player on the roster, including Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz.
If Kerfoot continues to play well and Utah continues to struggle, the team could get some teams calling about him when the trade deadline rolls around. Kerfoot’s contract is only worth $3.5 million, which will make it easy for teams to fit him under their cap. Whatever happens, this could be a great opportunity for the veteran forward.
A January to Remember for Clayton Keller
While January will be a month to forget for Utah after going 5-6-3, it will be one to remember for Keller, who played really well throughout the first month of 2025. He had 19 points in 14 games.
Keller tallied up two assists during Utah’s loss to the Blue Jackets. While he failed to record a point in the team’s loss to the Penguins, he was riding a seven-game point streak before that. In his past nine games, he has 15 points. While a lot of his teammates have been inconsistent this season, Keller certainly hasn’t been. He leads the team in every single offensive category and has only missed one game. His performance this season recently earned him a spot on Utah’s quarter-century team.
However, Keller probably doesn’t really care about his personal point streak with Utah not doing so well. Only time will tell if his team can get it together. One thing Touringy and the team don’t have to worry about is their captain’s production, though.
A Frustrating Reminder for Utah
Zach Werenski’s overtime winner on a two-man breakaway gave Utah their second straight loss in overtime and their fourth straight loss overall. While Utah does get a valuable point out of it, it’s not enough. Frustration is starting to emerge and it’s starting to be obvious. Mikhail Sergachev broke his stick in frustration after one of his last shifts in regulation and no one can blame him. It’s another game where the team had a horrible third period.
“I thought they pushed hard in the third and they made it harder on us,” Keller said. “It’s frustrating for sure. Just got to keep going; learn from it. Having confidence, believing you can make the play in (the) third. I think that’s the next step.”
The team has the same issue every single game. Failure to defend a lead, bad defensive positioning, failure to capitalize on good chances, and an overall lack of motivation to do whatever it takes to win; it’s become reminiscent of the movie Groundhog Day. Add in the fact that it’s another loss at home, which continues their worst home record in the entire NHL. Thus, you have a Utah team whose playoff hopes are quickly fading.
Other than the obvious, is it luck? Is it something internally? Someone asked Tourigny if snakebit was the right term to coin. He believes it’s worse than that.
“To say the least,” Tourigny said. “If I had more of a vocabulary, I would find something even worse than that.”
Perhaps the excitement around Utah’s inaugural season and the anticipation for new players like Sergachev and Marino clouded the fact that the NHL is no joke. You need to have the drive and motivation to win every night. Otherwise, the other teams will eat you alive. It’s something that Utah is still learning.
“It’s hard to win in this league,” Keller said. “That’s something we’re still figuring out.”
With the loss, Utah’s playoff hopes are disappearing. They are now six points back of the Calgary Flames for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. If the team keeps playing the way they are, they’re not going to like what happens come trade deadline when tough decisions are made.
Utah will continue their homestand on Sunday when they welcome back the St. Louis Blues. The Blues are 21-21-9 and are coming off a 5-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. The two teams have met twice so far this season, with Utah winning both games by identical scores of 4-2.
