Utah Hockey Club center Nick Bjugstad (17) and Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz (24) compete for the puck in a face off during a NHL game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Dallas Stars at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024 (Brice Tucker, Deseret News).
(Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – Despite a great first period and a valiant comeback effort in the third, the Utah Hockey Club was yet again plagued by a poor performance in the second which resulted in another loss to the Dallas Stars. However, considering their resiliency, there are still plenty of positives from Utah’s recent stretch of hockey.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s loss to Dallas.
When the Utah Hockey Club acquired Kevin Stenlund over the summer, they were banking on his elite face-off abilities, solid PK skills and a veteran presence who knows what it takes to win.
As of late, they’ve not only gotten all of the above, but Stenlund has also provided some clutch goals as he’s consistently lit the lamp during the past few weeks.
Over the course of December, No. 82 has scored five times which ties a career-best for goals in a month.
They’ve also come in clutch moments as he iced the games against Buffalo, Philadelphia and Colorado while also responding with a big goal in the first period against the Stars to tie things up.
Stenlund has been surpassing expectations as of late.
His five goals in December tie a career-best for goals over the course of a month.
He’s phenomenal in the face-off circle, great on the PK, and has been putting the puck in the net as of late. https://t.co/Z64pCU008b
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 24, 2024
Utah’s fourth line has absolutely been rolling over the past few weeks and propelled Utah to a lot of recent victories.
Stenlund has been a critical component of that effort as he’s played above and beyond his anticipated role.
The month of December has been a fun stretch for the Utah Hockey Club.
In addition to Utah’s six wins and two additional points from a few overtime periods, Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley have quickly transformed into young superstars, Clayton Keller has emphatically come alive, and the team has demonstrated some remarkable potential.
However, against Dallas, another poor second period was a quick reminder that this team is still learning.
Despite a strong response from Utah in the first and third periods, they lacked the extra effort in the second which allowed Dallas to take complete control.
“Had a great first period. Second period wasn’t great. Tried to fight back in the third but that’s a good team. Can’t take a period off. That’s kind of what we did in the second. So, you can claw back, a couple goals down in the third and hope for the best. But in order to win those games against teams like that you’ve got to play a full sixty for sure,” Nick Bjugstad said.
SPEED. THEY ARE SPEED. pic.twitter.com/99U7m3vvFN
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 24, 2024
Beware the heat 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/B5jcPzQIxO
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 24, 2024
These are important learning moments for the Utah Hockey Club.
Like Bjugstad pointed out, you can’t take a full period off against a team as dangerous as Dallas. They’ll make you pay every time and that was the difference in the game.
But Utah can continue to learn from moments such as these. It’s not a skill or talent issue but merely a mental lapse.
“That second period is the learning lesson…I thought we did a great job in the first period. We were urgent, intense, we were on the ball. Playing the right way. You just can’t afford those lapses against good teams and that’s what our second period was,” Barrett Hayton said.
With time and growth, Utah will learn how to consistently play complete hockey games. Once that happens, they’ll be incredibly dangerous.
While it can be tough to focus on the positives in back-to-back home losses, there appears to be a silver lining for the Utah Hockey Club.
In each of their last seven losses, the club has only lost by a single goal. That’s significant.
They’re not getting obliterated, they’re not giving up, and they’re hanging with some of the best squads that the NHL has to offer.
After a brutal second period where Dallas looked like they were simply playing a different sport than Utah, the club responded in the third.
They put their heads down, came out strong, battled for a greasy goal and were just inches away from tying it up after another solid late effort.
Hayton gets us within one! pic.twitter.com/FxHzYS2gvn
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) December 24, 2024
What’s also encouraging is that the team clearly cares. Not only have they generally fought till the final horn, but they also don’t settle for these kinds of results.
“It’s something we have to take as a learning experience right now,” Hayton said. “We’re all pissed off about it, disappointed, and frustrated in ourselves. That’s a big game. Sucks for it to go that way.”
Utah has been doing a lot of good things as of late. Obviously, the wins are at the forefront of that, but even the losses are a demonstration that this team isn’t far away from greatness.
Their young players are growing at a rapid pace, Mikhail Sergachev has been a perfect fit, Clayton Keller is really growing into the captain role, and they’ve even found a few diamonds in the rough with players like Michael Kesselring.
Couple that with the fact that this team has been plagued by the injury bug, and it’s clear that Utah is exceeding expectations.
So, with more time, experience, opportunities to learn from and a chance to get healthy, the future looks incredibly bright for the Utah Hockey Club.
The Utah Hockey Club will face the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night. The game can be viewed on ESPN2. 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.
