Game Preview, 3/1: Utah Hockey Club vs. New Jersey Devils
WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Delta Center – Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (27-24-9) carries a three-game win streak into tonight’s affair with the New Jersey Devils (32-22-6) at Delta Center. Utah has also won four straight at home and is now just two points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference.
ONE-TIMERS
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Devils enter tonight as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, sitting third in the Metropolitan Division with 70 points. This evening is the third matchup in a five-game road swing for New Jersey, who sports a solid 17-12-2 road record. Sheldon Keefe’s team has alternated wins and losses for the last 10 games, most recently suffering a 5-1 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
New Jersey is one of the league’s elite defensive teams, allowing just 2.50 goals per game—second only to the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets (2.35). The team’s success is anchored by an outstanding penalty kill, which ranks third in the NHL at 83.4%. he Devils blanked Utah on October 14, but the Mountain Blue shouldn’t be discouraged—New Jersey is tied for the league lead with eight shutouts this season.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #11 DYLAN GUENTHER – After a goal on Thursday against Minnesota, Guenther now has six goals in his last eight games since returning from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for 12 contests. The 21-year-old has points (6G, 4A) in seven of those eight games, and his 22 goals on the season are tied with Clayton Keller for the team lead.
NEW JERSEY: #86 JACK HUGHES – Hughes has points in four straight games (4G, 2A) and nine tallies in his last 10 contests. His 69 points (27G, 42A) are tied with Carolina’s Miko Rantanen (27G, 42A) and Utah’s Clayton Keller (22G, 47A) for the ninth most in the NHL.
LOOK BACK
Utah extended its win streak to three games overall and four games at home following a 6-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. Two power-play goals in the first period from Barrett Hayton and Dylan Guenther boosted Utah to a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes. Frederick Gaudreau scored in the second frame for Minnesota to cut the deficit in half, but Sean Durzi answered back just 1:48 later with his first goal in a Utah Hockey Club sweater.
The floodgates opened in the third period, and Utah scored three times to cement its third win of the year over the Wild. Nick Schmaltz made it a 4-1 game, Clayton Keller scored off a rebound to extend the lead to 5-1, and Logan Cooley added the sixth and final tally. The victory marked the biggest home win in Utah’s young history and the fourth time this season that the Mountain Blue scored six goals.
Keller finished his night with a goal and four assists, giving him the first five-point night in Utah Hockey Club history.
LAST MEETING
Utah and New Jersey last met on Oct. 14 in what was the fourth game of the season for Utah. The Devils skated to a 3-0 at Prudential Center, handing Utah its first ever loss. Goaltender Jake Allen picked up the shutout for New Jersey with 20 saves. After a scoreless first, the Devils earned goals from Seamus Casey and Stefan Noesen before Nico Hischier added a third score in the final frame. Casey and Hischier’s goals came on the power play with New Jersey going 2-for-7 on the man advantage for the afternoon.
CLAYTON KELLER
Keller played a part in five of Utah’s six goals on Thursday night, and his five points (1G, 4A) marked the first five-point night in Utah Hockey Club history. The five-point effort was also the first of Keller’s productive career. The captain registered four points on two previous occasions for Utah: two goals and two assists vs. Anaheim on Dec. 22 and one goal and three assists vs. St. Louis on Jan. 18.
The 26-year-old leads the team with 69 points (22G, 47A) in 59 games and is now on pace for 95 points this season- which would mark a career high. He is three helpers away from setting a new career high in assists. His 69 points also tie him for the ninth most in the NHL.
DEFENSE
Utah has allowed just one goal in each of its last three games against Vancouver, Chicago, and Minnesota, marking the fewest goals conceded in a three-game stretch this season. This solid defensive play comes after a tough three-game stretch where Utah allowed 16 goals against Carolina, Washington, and Los Angeles—the most goals allowed over a three-game span this season.
Shot suppression has been key for Utah, with the team allowing an average of just 18 shots per game over the last three contests—also the fewest allowed in a three-game span this season.
Utah ranks 15th defensively in the NHL at 2.93 goals against per game.
LOOK AHEAD
After a four-game homestand, Utah travels east to face a pair of Original Six teams next week. Up first on Thursday, Mar. 6, The Mountain Blue will face the Detroit Red Wings for the first time in team history on Thursday, March 6, before taking on the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, March 7. Friday will be the third meeting of the season between Utah and Chicago.
