Logan Cooley #92 of the Utah Hockey Club skates around before the start of the first 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 – More than a quarter of the way through the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season, it’s been a year of significant highs and lows for the NHL’s newest franchise.
Currently sitting in sixth place in the Central Division, Utah has 24 points with a 10-11-4 record as they’ve struggled to piece together consecutive wins despite a lot of impressive results.
As Utah hovers near .500, let’s look at three highs and three lows for the Club after the second month of the season.
While the team has been playing better as of late, second periods continue to be an issue, costing the Utah Hockey Club precious points.
In each of their last four losses, Utah has been outscored 9-0 in the second period. That’s a problem that needs to be addressed.
Despite hot starts and zero goals against during the first periods of those four losses, Utah’s game has really struggled during the middle period. They generally come out flat, turn the puck over, commit penalties, and consistently forfeit costly goals.
Against Boston they committed two bad penalties in the second which resulted in a goal, and they lost 1-0.
In Toronto, they surrendered three goals in five minutes during the second period and lost 3-2. Edmonton, it was three goals during the second, two of which were on the power play for the Oilers and Utah lost 4-3.
As for Dallas, two goals in the second doomed Utah’s chances to win and they lost 2-1.
It’s a strange pattern but it needs to be resolved. Utah hasn’t been able to win consecutive games for months and part of the issue has been poor second period performances.
When you take a look at the scoresheet through 25 games, there’s a few players whose lack of production jumps off the page.
In 25 appearances, Barrett Hayton has 11 points, Matias Maccelli has 10 and Lawson Crouse has just five. Meanwhile, Michael Carcone has just three points in 15 appearances.
That’s simply not good enough.
Last season, Maccelli finished with 57 points (third-most on the team) while Crouse had 42 and Carcone had 29.
Based on those numbers and their current point per game averages, Maccelli is on pace to finish with 32.8 (down roughly 40 percent), while Crouse is on pace for 16.4 (down 60 percent) and Carcone is on pace for 14.4 (down roughly 50 percent).
As for Hayton, with only 33 games last season, it’s hard to compare this year to last. However, after a blazing start with five points in the first three games, Hayton has slowed down with only six in his last 22.
Despite the lack of production from these players, Utah has remained competitive and played quality hockey most nights.
If they get a bit more from these specific skaters collectively, that would likely result in more wins in closer games which would keep them in the playoff conversation.
After a fierce 3-0 start to the season, the Utah Hockey Club has been unable to win back-to-back hockey games. With 10 wins and 11 regulation losses, it’s essentially been a back-and-forth, winning one night and losing the next.
Perhaps the strangest aspect of the inconsistency is how they can beat teams like Vegas and Carolina 10-1 collectively, then lose to teams like Nashville 4-0, San Jose 5-4 and Ottawa 4-0.
It’s perplexing. But they need to find solutions.
“It feels like we take a step forward and then two steps back,” Carcone said following the Dallas Stars loss. “We just have to review this game and find ways to beat teams that are in the top 10 and keep rolling from there. When we take that step forward, we come in, and I think we played a great game. We just can’t get the results. Once we learn from that and play a little bit stingier, I think we’re going to start going.”
Now, there are some positive ways to look at this problem.
First, Utah is right there in terms of goals for and against. Through 25 games, they’ve scored 70 while allowing 72. So, they’re not getting annihilated every night which is good.
Second, it’s largely been poor stretches of hockey that have resulted in many of their losses.
Rather than entire games, it’s been five-to-eight-minute letdowns where the wheels temporarily come off, but they generally respond and battle to the end.
If they can find a way to eliminate those poor stretches and play a full 60 minutes of hockey, things will level out and they’ll win more hockey games.
From the moment Sergachev stepped on the ice at Delta Center, he’s been a leader for the Utah Hockey Club.
Both in word and deed he’s stepped up, led the team through key injuries to the blue line, scored big goals, been vocal when they’ve needed correction and begun to alter the culture of the organization.
Full Story: Regrading Utah Hockey Club’s Summer Trade For Sergachev
In 25 games, Sergachev has surpassed expectations. Currently, No. 98 has six goals, 10 assists, 16 points, 42 blocks and delivered 17 hits while skating almost 26 minutes a night (team-high).
That’s a defenseman crashing the net and scoring a game winner.
Every day that goes by, the trade for Sergachev looks better and better.#UtahHC https://t.co/8PU2CJta8c
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 27, 2024
“It’s one thing to talk, it’s another to demonstrate and be an example. I think that’s what he does the best. He put his head down to block a ninety-seven mile an hour slapshot,” General Manager Bill Armstrong said.
“Those aren’t words, those are actions. I’ve always felt like your leaders have to be your best players at the right time, under pressure. They also have to lead by example, and I think he does both of those.”
Based on everything he’s been doing; it’s no surprise that Sergachev was awarded with an “A” on his sweater so quickly.
Not only has this team needed more of a defensive leader, but they’ve also needed more leadership overall this season, and he’s answered the call in a very impactful way that’s been invaluable for this team.
After a rough start to the season, Karel Vejmelka has been a consistent and reliable wall in net.
In 13 appearances, including 11 starts, Vejmelka has posted a .917 save percentage (7th in the NHL) with an average of 2.38 goals against per game.
Despite only three wins, Vejmelka is doing more than enough to give his team a shot to win each night.
I love this. Veggie deserved tonight. https://t.co/POmVUG3agi
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 14, 2024
He’s fast, agile, tracks the puck well, responds quickly, gobbles up rebounds, and simply has the hot glove right now.
If Utah’s offense can start scoring goals more consistently, Vejmelka’s efforts in net will be rewarded with more wins and could help this team go on a run.
Though just 20 and 21 years old, forwards Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther are evolving into stars.
Through 25 appearances, Dylan Guenther leads the team in goals with 10 and is second in points with 21.
As for Cooley, he’s been on fire as of late and currently has six goals with 14 assists (third-most on the team).
Given their current production, Guenther is on pace for 68.8 points (up 33 points from last season in 37 more games) while Cooley is on pace for 65.6 (50 percent increase) points.
Watch Cooley the whole way.
Puck doesn’t go originally, it gets wrapped around the zone, he goes straight to the net and works hard for a greaser goal.
The 2nd line is Utah’s best right now. Producing a lot of goals lately.#UtahHC https://t.co/tW4pgzxyXt
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 30, 2024
It’s not a PP goal but their movement from the man-advantage set this one up.
Great patience, they work the puck from side to side, Guenther gets free, Keller delivers a nice pass, and No. 11 makes no mistake. Nice goal.#UtahHC https://t.co/gPu62s6y4A
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 27, 2024
These two are the future of the Utah Hockey Club. Cooley is a remarkably talented forward with incredible speed, creativity, awareness and vision.
Guenther is a pure sharpshooter who can score from anywhere, create space and often helps his teammates put the puck in the net.
Both also contribute defensively and have very active sticks.
If Cooley and Guenther can continue developing like they have, they’re going to be superstars. To be so young with already so much talent is rare and will help Utah reach new heights as they work towards competing for Lord Stanley down the road.
The Utah Hockey Club will now travel to Buffalo for the first of a two-game Eastern road trip against the Sabres. 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.
