SALT LAKE CITY – As the Utah Hockey Club continues to endure an inaugural season of ups and downs, the Seattle Kraken handed Utah their fourth straight loss. Despite a strong response by the hockey club in the second period to tie the game, Seattle capitalized on several critical breakdowns in the third to defeat Utah 5-2.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s latest loss on the road.
It’s been an underwhelming season for the Utah Hockey Club’s alternate captain Lawson Crouse.
In 36 appearances, Crouse has just four goals and three assists which has him on pace for only 16 points this season. Compared to last year in Arizona, that’s down 61 percent year over year.
Simply not good enough, especially from one of Utah’s primary leaders.
Unfortunately, Crouse is also on a third line that has struggled immensely as of late. During the month of December, that trio has combined for only 4 points and have a collective plus/minus of minus 12.
That’s polar opposite from their production last season as Bjugstad finished with 45 points, Crouse had 42 and Maccelli had 57.
According to Bjugstad, this stretch has been incredibly frustrating as those three have never experienced a slump quite like this.
“It’s frustrating because we’ve done well together the last couple of years. Never really had a slump like this. So, it’s not getting in your head which is easy to say. It’s harder to do. But we’re getting through it together…” Bjugstad explained.
Bjugstad on 3rd line struggles: “For us, it’s not getting frustrated…you’re going to go through spurts where it’s not clicking…it’s just got to come down to work ethic. We’re sticking with it…we’re getting through it together…”#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/vkvksWO4OF
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 27, 2024
While the third line continues to try and break out of their slump, they were yet again unable to get on the scoring sheet against the Kraken despite an energetic overall effort.
Additionally, Crouse took a bad retaliation penalty in the first period which shifted the momentum and Seattle found the back of the net twice.
Utah simply needs more from No. 67. He needs to play with more fire, passion, composure and an unwillingness to settle for the status quo.
The team is in desperate need of some more consistency as they weather a season of ups and downs.
Even just a little more production from Crouse and his line could help level that out.
While the Seattle Kraken are not the most talented team in the NHL, they are certainly scrappy and opportunistic.
Such was the case against the Utah Hockey Club on Monday night as the Kraken irritated Utah all game and punished them with multiple odd-man rushes.
“They were just getting pucks behind us in the neutral zone there and getting odd man rushes and breakaways. Eventually, they capitalized on one and from there it was a bit of a gong show,” Michael Carcone said.
cha cha really ate with this one 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/gz1RLJyTda
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) December 31, 2024
🔥 MATTY B GOOD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MH1lX2iDyL
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) December 31, 2024
The third and fourth goals for Seattle were really tough ones to surrender as they simply came off breakdowns and Utah was caught sleeping.
“You cannot win if you give the number of opportunities we gave tonight in terms of breakaways or two on ones. Sometimes it will happen, there will be a broken play…but we need to just get a little bit more mature and patient in our game,” Head Coach Andre Tourigny said.
Like coach pointed out, you’re not going to win a lot of hockey games when you surrender so many Grade A chances on rushes and breakaways.
It creates an easy scoring opportunity for the opposition and requires your goaltender to make a spectacular save in a tough situation.
On a more positive note, those haven’t happened all that often this season but like Utah witnessed against Seattle, they can very costly when they do.
The Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season has been defined by a collection highs and lows through 36 games.
Right now, they’re experiencing another low as losses have started stacking up again.
Following a four-game winning streak and seven straight wins on the road, Utah has now lost four in a row and their first on the road since November 24 in Toronto.
But what does it mean? Why can’t Utah find more consistency and officially turn the corner?
Well, they’re still young and it shows. But that’s all part of the maturation process.
“I love the fight in our guys. I love their desire. They want to compete, and they want to make a difference. It’s just, we need to get under control, get more mature and understand hey, it’s a two-two game, we don’t have to force. But we’ll get there,” Tourigny said.
Learning to control emotions and weather adversity can be tough for young teams in the NHL.
With intense momentum swings, the entire physical aspect of the game and more experienced rosters who know how to use those to their advantage, it can be tough to find consistency.
That’s what Utah is trying to figure out right now and these types of results are to be expected.
They’re four years into a rebuild and attempting to take the next step by making the playoffs. This is how that process goes.
“It’s a bunch of guys who really want to do the right thing. We have guys who really want to win. They want to get results. But right now, they are forcing it,” Tourigny explained.
Fortunately, there’s a lot of positives for Utah amongst so many highs and lows.
In addition to having a young roster with a plethora of star potential, they’ve still been able to remain competitive without guys like John Marino and Sean Durzi who will eventually return from injury.
They’ve also got one of the most impressive prospect pools in the NHL among so many other assets.
So, there’s no reason to panic. The fact that this team is still in the playoff conversation despite so much adversity is very impressive.
If they can learn from their mistakes, embrace the maturation process and get healthy, this will be a dangerous hockey team.
For now, just enjoy the ride and any small wins along the way.
The Utah Hockey Club will travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers on Tuesday 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.
