SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 19: Nick Schmaltz #8 of the Utah Hockey Club in action during the first period of a game against the Boston Bruins at Delta Center on October 19, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Despite a strong start to the first period and controlling the game early with a 2-0 lead, the Utah Hockey Club struggled to close out against the Vegas Golden Knights and allowed four unanswered goals enroute to a loss. While there was a lot of good things that happened against Vegas, Utah is still seeking consistency as they learn and grow in their inaugural season.
Here are the key takeaways from the Utah Hockey Club’s loss to Vegas.
In the middle of the 2024 NHL draft, the front office remained aggressive after drafting in the first round as they traded for two-time Stanley Cup defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. After spending the vast majority of his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sergachev has been everything the club could’ve hoped for since his arrival to Salt Lake City.
To this point in the season, Sergachev is third on the team in points with four goals and eight assists. He’s also second in blocked shots with 32, has delivered 10 hits and leads the time on ice with 25 minutes a game. Very balanced across the board.
In addition to his obvious offensive and defensive contributions, Sergachev is also the leader of the defense as the No. 1 D-man. He’s calm, collected, smart with the puck, contributes on both ends, plays on the first line, PK, PP and has stepped up in big moments throughout the season.
Against Vegas, it was more of the same from No. 98. Yet again he led the team in minutes and scored a beauty on the power play to extend Utah’s lead to two early on.
Great work from Sergachev here. Patience, takes what the defense is giving him, steps up, and fires a laser glove side.
He was such a good acquisition this offseason. Makes such an impact all over the ice.#UtahHC https://t.co/rtTg7qzRtq
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 16, 2024
Some guys are just natural leaders in every facet of the game. They contribute on both ends, lead by example in both word and deed and make a huge impact.
Sergachev is one of those players and at some point, he should wear an “A” on his sweater for this club.
17 games into the season and the Utah Hockey Club are right where General Manager Bill Armstrong said they would be. Some nights, they’ve looked like the best team in the league and others, not so much.
So, what is it about this team that’s leading to the inconsistency?
First of all, they’re young. There’s going to be growing pains.
Second, there’s a handful of veterans that have not quite stepped up for this team just yet.
Third, between the first two, at times this team just takes their foot off the gas and allows the opposition back into the game.
As previously stated, there’s going to continue to be growing pains for the Utah Hockey Club in the immediate future. Despite a plethora of potential, the roster is full of young players who haven’t been in the league for very long and are still adjusting. Guys like Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Matias Maccelli, Michael Kesselring and Maveric Lamoureux among others.
Incredibly talented, but they cannot be expected to be perfect. They’re young, they’re learning, and this is how it goes when you have a young team like this. Eventually, they’ll figure it out and once they can reach a more consistent level of being at their best, they are going to be a very good hockey team.
“Yeah I think there’s that balance of when to get it in, and when to make a play.. I think that’s what we’re still learning and figuring out. So we’ve shown glimpses of doing it the right way and showing the other way as well. So we’ll learn from it, we’ll be better, and it won’t happen again,” Keller said.
As for the veterans, the team could definitely use a little more from players like Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz and Jusso Valimaki.
Through 17 games, Lawson Crouse has four points, Schmaltz has 12 assists but no goals and Valimaki has zero points in 14 games.
A season ago, Crouse was the second leading goal scorer (23) but has struggled early this season to produce. While Schmaltz is still contributing offensively with plenty of assists, to not have a single goal through nearly a quarter of the season is unacceptable for a first line winger. As for Valimaki, while he is a third-line defenseman he needs to get more involved offensively as everyone has to contribute in order to win games.
Look, hockey is a team sport, but the veterans need to step up more to help carry the young guys through some of those growth moments.
Finally, the Utah Hockey Club has taken their foot off the gas far too many times this season which has resulted in multiple losses despite dominant stretches of play. It happened against the Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks and now twice against Vegas.
“We kind of respect teams too much…we give them ice and we give them the puck to play with. Instead, we should be the ones playing with the puck. So, it’s a matter of finding the right balance,” Sergachev said.
Like Sergachev pointed out, they need to find the right balance. At times, they look like the greatest team in the National Hockey League. Other times, it’s the opposite. But as they continue to learn and with some help from the veterans, they should stabilize their game a bit more and find a consistent groove.
“It’s the best league in the world,” Keller said. “It’s hard to win. I’m learning, our teams learning and we have a lot of veteran guys that have won, and they’ve been great in sharing their knowledge on what it takes to be a winning team. To get to the next level, playoffs, Stanley Cup, things like that. We’ve got a long way to go, and we’ve got to learn fast.”
Tonight, the difference was simply more experience. Vegas is a Championship team with hopes of adding another Stanley Cup banner this season while Utah is a young team looking to emerge from a rebuild. It’s going to take time but there’s a lot of signs that this team has a very high ceiling within reach.
While it wasn’t an overabundance of penalties against Vegas on Friday night, they were incredibly costly and allowed the Golden Knights to not only hang around but robbed Utah of dominant momentum and a win.
Scoring twice, the Knights demonstrated their elite power play unit as they moved the puck around the zone, dissected Utah’s PK, got bodies in front of the net and put pucks in dangerous areas. This allowed them to tie the game in the third period.
that was Salt Lake Pretty 🤩 pic.twitter.com/KkbD2GrRhT
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 16, 2024
JAROSLAV HERTL’S SON IS HAVING A GREAT TRIP 🤩🤩🤩 pic.twitter.com/JKwFgia1cq
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 16, 2024
“They were good. But you know, it was on us. We let it slip a little bit and kind of lost our focus and gave up two. That should never happen,” Sergachev said.
Giving the second-best power play unit in the NHL (32.6%) multiple opportunities was too dangerous, especially in the third period only leading by a goal. The composure simply has to be better when such a talented group is on the other side of the puck.
Ultimately, the penalties started a chain reaction, and the momentum swung heavily in favor of Vegas as they scored four unanswered goals and stole two critical points away from Utah.
The Utah Hockey Club will now finish their three-game homestand against the Washington Capitals on Monday 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.
