Utah Hockey Club defenseman Maveric Lamoureux (10) adjusts his helmet after scoring a goal as the Utah Hockey Club and the Calgary Flames play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Utah won 5-1 (photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News).
(photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – It’s been a rollercoaster early on for the Utah Hockey Club as they approach month two of their inaugural season. After taking the NHL by storm with a 3-0 start and four wins in their first six games, Utah has lost six of the last seven and eight of the last 10.
Currently 5-5-3 with 13 points (5th in the Central Division), let’s take a look at three highs and three lows for the Utah Hockey Club after the first month of the season.
Let’s begin with the positives for the Utah Hockey Club. While things have been a little rough over the past few weeks, the club has still done a lot of things right and demonstrated loads of potential in their young squad. To be .500 through 13 games is an accomplishment for this team even though the nature of their record has been a little concerning.
But aside from that, here are three things Utah is doing well:
After conceding a power play goal to the Winnipeg Jets last night, Utah’s overall penalty kill percentage dropped from 79.1 percent to 77.7 percent but has still seen improvement from a season ago (76.3 percent in 2023-24).
The additions of Mikhail Sergachev, Ian Cole and Olli Maatta on the blue line have added veteran experience and leadership in defending a man-down. Signing faceoff specialist Kevin Stenlund has also helped in terms of the PK as he’s won some critical defensive-zone faceoffs and helped the team clear the puck in key moments.
Related: Mikhail Sergachev Is Utah Hockey Club’s Steady Defensive Leader
Before last night, Utah was killing penalties near the league average of 79.1. Unfortunately, they did drop two percentage points but that’s to be expected when you play the Winnipeg Jets who have the best power play unit in the NHL (44.4 percent).
For the most part, the PK has been a bright spot, especially with the amount of blue line injuries they’ve sustained.
Perhaps the biggest jump Utah has seen statistically this season is the percentage of victories in faceoff circles.
Last year, the club finished the season with a 45.1 faceoff percentage. Now, they’re winning 55.2 percent in 2024-25.
The two biggest differences? Kevin Stenlund and Barrett Hayton who are absolutely dominating every time the puck is dropped. Through 13 games, Stenlund has won 64.2 percent while Hayton has won 61.5 percent.
Stenlund was signed this offseason to do two things: win faceoffs and help with the PK effort. He’s done both very well. As for Hayton, he’s seen a 12 percent increase from last season.
While it doesn’t automatically result in more goals or wins, winning faceoffs is an important part of the game. You can’t do either of those things or defend your own end without winning possession.
So far, this an area Utah has excelled in.
Coming into the 2024-25 hockey season, 20-year-old defenseman Maveric Lamoureux wasn’t supposed to be wearing a Utah sweater just yet. Following rookie camp, he was sent to the clubs AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners to grow and develop for the foreseeable future.
However, after being called up to the NHL in response to several injuries to Utah’s blue line, Lamoureux has flourished and proven he belongs.
Full Story: What’s It Like To Make An NHL Debut With Utah Hockey Club?
Welcome to the NHL Maveric Lamoureux.#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/QpPNmKeIEo
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 25, 2024
In six games, Lamoureux has recorded his first NHL goal, an assist, four blocks, seven hits and has a plus/minus of plus four (tied for team-high with Michael Kesselring) in 17 minutes on ice per night.
LET’S GO, MAV!!! 🥹💙 pic.twitter.com/d771piVqy2
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) October 31, 2024
Despite being so young, Lamoureux doesn’t look out of place whatsoever. He’s confident, composed, calm, has made the right plays and played his game. He’s also been exactly what the club needs with his size, physicality and ability to contribute offensively.
There’s still a long way for him to go but that’s also equally as exciting. He’s only 20 and can hold his own at the NHL level? What’s he going to look like in two or three years with more growth and development?
Exciting times are ahead for Utah’s No. 10.
With losses stacking up over the past few weeks and the Utah Hockey Club dropping in the standings, they’re a few key areas the team is struggling in.
Here are three things Utah is doing poorly:
Shots on goal is a topic I’ve discussed a lot lately but it’s becoming more of an issue as the season goes on for the Utah Hockey Club.
Currently, Utah is averaging 25.7 shots per game (28.5 league average) while allowing 29.6 a night. Through 12 games, Utah was ranked 29th in the league in shots on goal and likely didn’t improve after only 21 against the Jets last night.
While their strategy isn’t necessarily to try and outshoot teams each contest, it’s becoming a pattern in losses, especially against some of the better teams.
Against Las Vegas they were outshot 35-19, the Sharks 46-23, Anaheim 34-30, New Jersey 32-20 and again against Winnipeg, 28-21.
They simply have to shoot more. Being outshot so heavily is unacceptable and is resulting in a significant struggle to light the lamp.
When you don’t shoot enough, you struggle to put the puck in the net and that’s been the case for Utah thus far.
As of right now, Utah has scored 37 goals (2.8 average) which ranks 19th in the NHL. It’s also important to note that things have significantly slowed down after Utah’s blistering 3-0 start. In those first three games, Utah scored 16 goals (5.3 average). Since then, they’ve only scored 21 in 10 matchups (2.1 average).
In terms of power play goals, Utah has only connected six times on 35 opportunities (17.1 percent, 20th in the NHL).
For a team that started off so hot, things have changed pretty drastically. They appear to have gone away from what was working early on in terms of crowding the net, playing higher in the zone, cleaning up rebounds and setting up their premier goal scorers.
While they’ve struggled to put the puck in the net, Utah has also struggled to keep it out early in the season.
Between Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka, the Utah Hockey Club’s netminders have a combined 88.3 save percentage with 3.4 goals against per game (25th in the NHL).
The league average in terms of save percentage is 89.2 percent. Utah isn’t that far below the average but realistically, anything below 90 percent is simply subpar.
Now, part of this can be attributed to the defensive injuries Utah has sustained and their poor performances during non-5-on-5 situations. When full strength hockey is being played, Utah’s save percentage jumps up to 92 percent. That’s solid. But overall, 88 percent from No. 1 goaltender Connor Ingram (49th in the NHL) and 89 percent from Vejmelka is making it tougher to win games.
🤠🤠🤠 pic.twitter.com/zk8Imitg8u
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 3, 2024
It’s still a young season and Utah’s blue line has been hit hard by the injury bug. However, improvement between the pipes could help Utah in some of these closer games which may end up being the difference if Utah can make the postseason or not.
By no means is Utah a bad hockey team. They’ve simply endured some unfortunate injuries to key defensive players and are still very young. However, unless they can improve in terms of both scoring and keeping pucks out of the net, losses could stack up quickly and they’ll be facing a significant uphill battle to get back into the playoff conversation.
The Utah Hockey Club will now continue their road trip against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. 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.
