Game Preview, 3/14: Utah Hockey Club vs. Seattle Kraken
WHEN: 8:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Climate Pledge Arena – Seattle, Washington
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (29-25-11) opens up a three-game northern push tonight against the Seattle Kraken (28-34-4) tonight at Climate Pledge Arena. Utah has earned points in four straight games entering tonight and is just two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
ONE-TIMERS
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Seattle enters tonight in seventh place amongst Pacific Division teams with 60 points. The Kraken have won two of their last three games after a dramatic 5-4 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Seattle was a part of one of the bigger trades of the NHL trade deadline on Mar. 6 when they dealt Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Michael Eyssimont, two conditional first-round picks, a second-round pick, a fifth-round pick, and prospect Kyle Aucoin. Bjorkstrand had been Seattle’s fifth-leading scorer with 37 points (16G, 21A) at the time of the trade.
Chandler Stephenson paces the Kraken with 45 points (11G, 34A). Seattle ranks 15th in the NHL with 2.97 goals per game and is 24th defensively in the league with 3.23 goals against per contest.
STANDINGS UPDATE
WC1: Minnesota Wild – 78 points
WC2: Calgary Flames – 71 points
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WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #91 JOSH DOAN – With an assist last night, Doan now has helpers in back-to-back games and in five of his last seven games. The 23-year-old also has nine points (2G, 7A) in his last 12 contests.
SEATTLE: #38 JANI NYMAN – Nyman scored his first NHL goal for Seattle on Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens as a part of a two-goal third-period comeback. The game was also his NHL debut after recording 41 points (26G, 15A) in 55 American Hockey League games this season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Nyman was a second-round pick by Seattle in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
LOOK BACK
Utah held on to a 3-2 win on Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks at Delta Center. Jack McBain led off the scoring in the first period by tipping Ian Cole’s shot into the back of the net. Alexander Kerfoot doubled Utah’s lead with his eighth goal of the season later in the second frame.
The Ducks stormed back with goals from Alex Killorn and Mason McTavish to force a 2-2 tie by the third period. On the power play in period three, Dylan Guenther buried his team-best 11th power-play goal of the season to put Utah ahead for good.
LAST MEETING
Utah dropped its fourth straight game on Dec. 30 in a 5-2 decision against the Seattle Kraken in a meeting between the NHL’s two newest franchises. Alexander Kerfoot scored to tie the game at 2-2 with less than a minute remaining in the second period, but three goals in the third by the Kraken, including an empty-netter, sealed Utah’s fate. Logan Cooley started the scoring in the first period on the power play with his ninth goal of the season as Utah converted on their only man-advantage of the night.
POWER PLAY
Utah’s power play has now scored in three straight games after a 1-for-3 effort against Anaheim on Wednesday. The Mountain Blue has scored 12 power-play goals in the last 11 games, going 12-for-36 (33.3%) in that span. This more recent trend continues a longer trajectory of success from the specialty unit, which ranks fourth in the NHL since Nov. 23 with a 28.1% conversion rate on the man-advantage.
Dylan Guenther leads the team with 11 power-play goals while Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller are both tied for second with seven each. Keller is the trigger man for Utah’s power play, and his 31 power-play points (7G, 24A) are the fourth most across all NHL skaters.
DYLAN GUENTHER
After scoring the game-winning goal against Anaheim on Wednesday, Dylan Guenther now leads the team and is tied for third in the NHL with eight game-winning goals, including five since the start of February. Guenther recorded eight shots on goal against the Ducks- the most in a game by a Utah skater this season.
The 21-year-old also earned an assist on Wednesday and now has 14 points (8G, 6A) in 13 games since missing 12 contests due to injury.
Guenther ranks third on the team in scoring with 48 points (24G, 24A) and leads the team with 24 goals.
LOOK AHEAD
A three-game road trip continues with a critical matchup against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, Mar. 16 at 6 p.m. MT. Utah is two points behind Vancouver in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
