SALT LAKE CITY – On the second half of a back-to-back on the road, the Utah Hockey Club ran out of gas against the Edmonton Oilers and lost their fifth straight game. Despite a quick initial response in the first period, Utah lacked the necessary energy during a critical stretch in the second which put the game out of reach as the Oilers scored twice.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s loss in Edmonton.
Some nights in the NHL, the energy levels just aren’t quite where they need to be, and such was the case for the Utah Hockey Club against the Oilers.
Despite a quick response to tie the game at one in the first period from Jack McBain, Utah fell a bit flat in the second and the Oilers punished them with two goals in short order.
Nice pass from Guenther and McBain finishes with a little backhand-forehand action.
Well executed. https://t.co/DONQmFUVI5
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 1, 2025
Happy Nuuuuge Year 🥳 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/8qLUBYCwob
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 1, 2025
Sneaky Stech 🤭 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/VkukHGmUSP
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 1, 2025
“It’s a back-to-back. For us, we didn’t have the fuel in the tank to really spark and generate a lot of offense,” Head Coach Andre Tourigny said.
After a hard-fought battle against Seattle the night before and losing Clayton Keller to illness near puck drop, Utah was shorthanded and clearly lacked the ability to appropriately respond to a dangerous Oilers team who swiftly took advantage.
However, aside from the loss, Tourigny liked the mentality of his players as they fought till the end.
“Obviously I don’t think we had the energy and the will and the wheels to generate a lot of offense, but I love the fight in our guys a lot,” Tourigny said.
Making his first appearance for the Utah Hockey Club since October 28, Liam O’Brien was full of energy all night against the Oilers.
Liam O’Brien will play in place of Keller.
First game for Spicy Tuna since 10/28. https://t.co/ujKu4EjmiT
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 1, 2025
Right from the start, O’Brien attacked the net with urgency, was relentless on the forecheck and brought some much-needed juice to a struggling line.
“I’m really proud of him [O’Brien]…He showed up and was ready to go. He played a solid game and brought emotion and physicality like he always does. So, really proud of him…tonight he was a positive factor for us,” Tourigny said.
High energy guy. Utah has needed more of that, especially on the third line.
Great first period for Spicy Tuna.pic.twitter.com/ersslrQoHF
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 1, 2025
Overall, O’Brien had arguably the most impactful performance on the third line as he finished with two shots and six hits in nine minutes on the ice.
“Once I kind of got into the flow of the game I felt pretty good, and I found myself getting more and more comfortable,” O’Brien said.
It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means and the third line was still unable to produce points, but O’Brien sparked the energy levels, was incredibly physical and deserves to be given some more opportunities in the near future on that same line.
It’s simply been a tough stretch for the Utah Hockey Club late in December.
After a roaring start to the month with four straight wins and a continued seven straight on the road, Utah has struggled to find victories as of late.
With their fifth straight loss coming against the Oilers, Utah has now dropped to sixth in the Central Division and is beginning to fade a bit in terms of the wild card race.
However, despite a disappointing collection of outcomes over the past few weeks, it’s important to remember where Utah is at in terms of their roster and rebuild.
During a recent radio appearance with Hans and Scotty on the KSL Sports Zone, General Manager Bill Armstrong stressed the importance of understanding where the team currently stands.
While they did string together a collection of impressive wins earlier this month that propelled them in the standings and turned quite a few heads, the more recent struggles shouldn’t be a huge shock to anyone based on their rebuild status.
Good reminder from Bill Armstrong on the rebuilding state of #UtahHC ⬇️ on @KSLSportsZone
“You can see the greatness coming out on nights where we’re clicking & playing at our best. Then there’s frustrating moments where some of the immaturity comes out & costs us…there’s…
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 31, 2024
“You can see the greatness coming out on nights where we’re clicking and playing at our best. Then there’s frustrating moments where some of the immaturity comes out & costs us,” Armstrong said.
“There’s going to be points where we look unbeatable. Then there’s other points in the rebuild where don’t look like we can ever win again.”
Utah is the fifth youngest team in the National Hockey League.
Their best player and top defenseman are only 26.
Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther are just 20 and 21.
Matias Maccelli, Jack McBain, Michael Kesselring and Barrett Hayton are all in their mid-20’s.
This is a young and inexperienced team that’s learning what it takes to consistently play at their best every night. That’s a strenuous process.
But what’s exciting is that Utah doesn’t appear to be far away. They’ve been competitive with the best teams in the league and can be considered a playoff team when they play at their best.
“I like what I’ve seen a lot of the time. We’ve got a winning record for the most part…you can see the fruits of the labor of the young guys playing and the steps they’ve taken,” Armstrong added.
While it’s never easy to lose so many games in a row and this team has yet to find true consistency, there’s a lot to look forward to as they grow, become healthy and learn from their adversity.
The Utah Hockey Club will travel to Calgary to face the Flames on Thursday night. 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.
