SALT LAKE CITY – For the second game in a row, the Utah Hockey Club struggled on both ends of the ice and were dominated in their own building. As offensive and defensive woes continued, the Colorado Avalanche took complete control and overwhelmed Utah 5-1 to hand them their second straight loss.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s first matchup with the Colorado Avalanche.
To be honest, allowing goals has been somewhat of a problem since the beginning of the season for the Utah Hockey Club, not necessarily just over the last few games.
Through the first eight contests, Utah has allowed 29 goals while scoring 23. The only difference over the last two is that the goals for haven’t overshadowed the goals against. That’s why it has become more obvious.
Defensively, it’s been penalties and missed assignments. When you go down two skaters, you’re just asking for teams to score and eventually the Avalanche did.
“You can’t always allow five goals…We allowed four goals last game, five this game. We feel like (opponents are) getting way too much inside and we’re not helping our goalies. Of course, (Karel Vejmelka) and (Connor Ingram) are really good goalies. But we have to help them and not give them that many shots,” Maveric Lamoureux said.
ROSCO TO THE NET🚨 pic.twitter.com/MMaoMkiuBQ
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 25, 2024
As for the missed assignments, a lot of it has simply been players in the wrong places which has opened up space and easy opportunities for the opposing teams.
“We want to win. We’ve got to defend way better. We’ve been giving up way too many goals…we’ve got to defend better,” Lawson Crouse said.
We love to see it, don’t you love to see it? #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/UyziBSIU4B
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 25, 2024
Finally, in terms of goaltending, it’s hard to put a ton of blame on them but nine goals in two contests is really inexcusable. Sure, there have been defensive breakdowns and penalties are tough to defend, but there’s also been a few goals where the netminders have simply been beat and they have to be better in those moments.
Cale keeps us cookin’ #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/g2z7RBb636
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 25, 2024
A positive is that the Utah Hockey Club knows they’re playing poorly. They understand that they are much better than they’ve been the past two games and are hyper focused on returning to their brand of hockey.
After receiving his call up on Tuesday night and making his way to Salt Lake City, Maveric Lamoureux was solid in his NHL debut for the Utah Hockey Club.
Related: Maveric Lamoureux To Make NHL Debut for Utah Hockey Club Against Colorado Avalanche
Welcome to the NHL Maveric Lamoureux.#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/QpPNmKeIEo
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 25, 2024
An NHL debut is an emotional event. Generally, it takes a few seasons of development in lower leagues before a player is ready, even for first round draft selections. But following his rookie lap, Lamoureux locked in and put together a very respectable performance.
“He was really good,” Coach Andre Tourigny said. “I think he was really good. He moved well, he moved the puck well, defended well and did a good job.”
In nearly 19 minutes on the ice, Lamoureux was reliable, comfortable, confident, physical and looked like belonged. For the night he finished with one shot, three blocks, two hits and was one of the few players on Utah’s roster to register a +/- of +1.
“I really liked my game. I feel like it just went uphill as the game went on. It started alright, and as the game went on, I got more comfortable. I liked how I played tonight,” Lamoureux said.
What stands out the most about Lamoureux’s game was his physicality and defensive zone presence. Every shift he made his presence known, easily removed Colorado’s forwards from in front of the net and even delivered a few punishing hits.
Lamoureux just absolutely demolished Mittelstadt in the corner. Laid him out no problem.
Highlight of the night so far.
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 25, 2024
While it remains to be seen if this will be a long-term solution with Sean Durzi and John Marino sidelined for the next few months, Lamoureux is the type of defenseman that Utah needs. He’s big, physical, moves well and can even contribute offensively.
“Playing in my first NHL game is special. Even though we didn’t win, I’m always going to remember that game, that’s for sure,” Lamoureux said.
If he can continue to play like he did against Colorado, it won’t be long before he’s on the roster permanently.
Through the last six periods of NHL hockey, the Utah Hockey Club has been outscored 9-1. While part of it has been due to superior opposing goaltending and the puck refusing to bounce their way, the offense has been noticeably different than it was through the first few games.
For starters, Utah is simply not getting to their spots. They’re struggling to get to the net, have been mostly incapable of setting up their shape and the chemistry just seems off. Additionally, shots have been sailing either well over the top or to the sides of the net instead of on frame.
It also doesn’t help that Utah’s most productive lines have gone silent. Dylan Guenther hasn’t scored since the Rangers game; Barrett Hayton and Clayton Keller haven’t lit the lamp since Anaheim, and aside from Crouse’s single goal, nobody has been able to do much of anything.
“They [the leaders of the team] have to be an example first. We cannot accept that. One thing we are, we are a hardworking team. We are a proud team…showing up like that? That won’t happen again,” Tourigny said.
In response to the lack of production, the lines were completely switched up against Colorado because nothing was working. Guenther jumped up to the top line, Maccelli, Crouse and McBain we’re put together and the bottom two were also changed up.
Utah’s forward lines have switched up quite a bit tonight. Guenther is now on the top line, Maccelli, Crouse and McBain are together. They’re shaking it all up.
Seems fair when nobody can put the puck in the net.
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 25, 2024
While Crouse was able to finally score against Colorado and somewhat snap the offensive woes, he was adamant that team simply has not been good enough.
Full Story: Lawson Crouse Ends Utah Hockey Club Drought With Late Goal
Lawson Crouse scores his 3️⃣rd goal of the season.#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/QcHWDNASM2
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) October 25, 2024
“We’ve just got to get back to it…I think today was an example of getting frustrated and then trying to make up for it. Just got to get back to simple hockey, playing the right way, covering for each other. Goals will come. Obviously, we’ve got to keep them out of our net and that’s the biggest thing right now. We can’t win hockey games when we go down three, four to nothing. It’s a tough league to come back in,” Crouse said.
Lawson Crouse on what the team needs to do in order to get back to winning hockey games.#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/CAtNf0Gtf1
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 25, 2024
A two-game losing streak is certainly no reason to act like the sky is falling, but the way this team has been playing offensively over the last few games is certainly a concern.
The Utah Hockey Club will now travel to Los Angeles for a single game road trip against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.