Karel Vejmelka #70 of the Utah Hockey Club tends goal in the third period during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 23, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – After losing to the Minnesota Wild at home in overtime just 10 days ago, the Utah Hockey Club got their revenge with a greasy regulation victory on the road. With two more goals from Dylan Guenther and a superb showing in net from Karel Vejmelka, Utah won their fourth straight game and seventh straight contest on the road.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s greasy victory in Minnesota.
While the number of penalties taken by the Utah Hockey Club on Friday was not ideal, their response to all five was perfect as they refused to allow Minnesota to score.
In addition to superb netminding from Karel Vejmelka, Utah had textbook positioning, an impenetrable shape and continuously sacrificed their bodies to block shots.
INCREDIBLE PK from #UtahHC
Just suffocating pressure from the Wild but textbook positioning and elite goaltending keep the game tied.
Big moment in the game.
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 21, 2024
“We made some adjustments on the PK, it works well…We get big blocked shot, we get urgency. So, that’s pretty good. Power play, I don’t think we were extremely good, but we scored,” head coach Andre Tourigny said.
Utah simply responded when they needed to and that’s been the story as of late for this team.
After Minnesota scored in the first period, Utah responded with a tying goal just moments later.
Whether it was penalties committed in the first, second or third periods, they responded with critical stops.
When Minnesota pulled their goaltender late in the third for an extra attacker, the team held their ground, cleared the puck and secured the victory.
Regardless of what has been thrown at them, Utah has discovered a way to respond and that’s made a massive difference in winning close games, even if they are a bit greasy.
As of late, it seems that two of the most common occurrences for the Utah Hockey Club are power play goals and Dylan Guenther lighting the lamp.
Against the Wild, both remained a constant and led to a huge victory in Minnesota.
The Utah Hockey Club defeat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on the road!
Make it 4 straight wins and 7 on the road for #UtahHC
That’s a HUGE win folks. As of late, Utah is one of the best teams in the National Hockey League.
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 21, 2024
During the month of December, Utah’s power play has improved by 21 percent since November and is the third best in the NHL at 36.8 percent.
Essentially, every third power play opportunity Utah is cashing in which held true against Minnesota.
Big opportunity to take the lead in the third.
Utah has essentially scored on every third power play in December. This will be their third of the night against the Wild.#UtahHC https://t.co/2PYsW0hTpn
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 21, 2024
Over the past four games, it’s also important to point out that Guenther has six goals, several of which have come on the power play.
On Friday night, Guenther proceeded to score twice and netted the game winner on the third power play of the night for Utah.
This has become the norm for #UtahHC
Wizardry from Cooley and Guenther finding the back of the net. Huge response from those two in order to tie the game.
Superstars in the making. https://t.co/dY52rIU5ln
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 21, 2024
One wasn’t enough for Gunner 💪 pic.twitter.com/fM27lRvIRc
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) December 21, 2024
During the past few weeks, Utah’s power play unit has simply been on a different level thanks to their captain and young stars.
With the addition of Logan Cooley on the top line, there’s been a lot more creativity and space which has freed up shooters like Guenther and Clayton Keller to simply dominate.
After scoring twice against the Wild, Dylan Guenther is now averaging a point per game with 32 points in 32 contests.
Thats very, very good.
Oh, and he’s only 21.#UtahHC
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 21, 2024
To this point in their inaugural season, Karel Vejmelka has been absolutely spectacular for the Utah Hockey Club.
Coming into tonight, Vejmelka boasted a .915 save percentage with 2.37 goals against (7th best in the NHL) in 18 games with 16 starts.
Game after game, Vejmelka has essentially been a brick wall for Utah and made a plethora of key saves to give his team the best chance to win every single night.
“He’s playing unreal. I mean our PK has been good and he’s a big part of that. I’m happy for him so it’s a lot of fun to watch him back there,” Guenther said.
As one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, his confidence has been infectious and directly resulted in most, if not all of their wins as of late.
“Yeah, he’s been awesome. He’s been kicking ever since he’s stepped in there. He’s got his swagger, his confidence back, and he’s such a good goalie,” Clayton Keller said after the win against Vancouver.
“He’s tough to score on in practice. He does the little things, and he cares a lot, so it’s good to see him have some success, for sure. He’s going to keep it going.”
Aside from his 49 saves against Carolina earlier this season, Vejmelka may have had his best showing of the season against the Wild.
Despite allowing a goal in the first period, Vejmelka was an impenetrable brick wall throughout the rest of the contest with 28 saves on 29 shots (.966 save percentage).
Karel Vejmelka has been at his best tonight against the Wild.
Crazy glove save on a one-timer and just barely denied a breakaway opportunity.
Wherever you are, this man deserves some Veggie chants 🥦🥦🥦
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 21, 2024
Whether it was one-timers, shots in close, five power play opportunities for the Wild, or even breakaways, Vejmelka simply could not be beaten.
“I am just trying to focus for another shot. Obviously, a great win tonight. We deserve it…it’s all about focus to be ready. It doesn’t matter. Just be ready for another shot. Try to find the puck early,” Vejmelka said.
HUGE SAVE.
To move so quickly and keep that out is absurd. https://t.co/sO0P3xiKnX
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 21, 2024
In the NHL, the teams who make the playoffs and go on from there generally have the best netminders. Right now, Utah has one of the top goalies and he’s propelling them towards a postseason spot.
The Utah Hockey Club will now return home to face the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday afternoon. 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.
