There were a lot of positives for the Utah Hockey Club in their 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Saturday night, but they couldn’t hang on to secure the two points.
“We want to win. We’re desperate for wins,“ said head coach André Tourigny after the game, “but when we play like that, I will always have (his players) back.”
Tourigny’s squad competed from the opening face-off to the final buzzer, but the difference ended up being the Kings’ bounce-back mindset.
Utah HC took two separate leads in the game, but the Kings answered with goals of their own in less than two and a half minutes on both occasions.
Here’s the full story.
This is a three-part article geared toward three different audiences.
Feedback is welcome, so let me know what you think in the comments of this article or the comments section on “X.”
There’s an age-old tradition in hockey wherein, when an individual scores three goals in the same game, fans throw their hats onto the ice. It’s aptly named a “hat trick” — and it’s a big deal whenever it happens.
On Saturday, Barrett Hayton scored the first hat trick in Utah Hockey Club history and the 49th in the NHL this season. He scored all three goals on his former teammate, Darcy Kuemper.
HAYTON HATTY pic.twitter.com/6wPbqYeDtw
As nice as it is to achieve such a big milestone, Hayton wasn’t in a position to celebrate.
“It’s not really something you think about,” he said after the game. “At this point, it’s frustrating losing that game.”
Hayton has really turned his game around in the second half of the season. It’s not that he was bad before, but ever since dropping to the second line, he’s playing like a legitimate top-six center.
“I often talk about how much Hayton plays the right way,” Tourigny said. “He does everything right. He has the right attitude. He competes so hard.”
Hayton now has 20 points in his last 27 games, in addition to playing an important defensive role.
Salt Lake City native Trevor Lewis scored the game-winning goal for the Kings. He’s the only active Utah-born player in the NHL.
The entire hockey world expected the 38-year-old to sign in Utah as a free agent last summer. Instead, he returned to Los Angeles, where he won the Stanley Cup in both 2012 and 2014.
When I inquired about it, I was told that Lewis had planned on coming home, but the team was concerned that it could be a distraction if they ended up having to scratch him.
Lewis has yet to play a regular season NHL game at the Delta Center, but he has played there in the preseason on multiple occasions, including Sept. 23 — Utah HC’s first-ever game in that building.
He will return on April 3.
After a 51-game absence due to a shoulder injury, Sean Durzi finally made his return to the Utah Hockey Club lineup — and he looked like he never missed a beat.
All game long, Durzi was in the mix offensively. On his very first shift, he tried to toe-drag around Joel Edmundson in the offensive zone. That’s a high-confidence play and he showed no hesitation making it, though he didn’t get around the 580-game veteran.
Who’s excited? (we are 🙌) pic.twitter.com/6xM9kGyEI2
As the clock started ticking down in the third period with Utah down by two, Durzi’s urgency became even more apparent. On a number of occasions, he stickhandled through several opponents to set things up in front of the net.
It ultimately got him an assist on Hayton’s third goal, giving Durzi his first point since Utah’s first-ever road game.
“Durzi’s a huge piece,” Hayton said after the game. “He worked really hard at his rehab to come back now and be ready to step in (with) full force.
“I think we saw that tonight. He wasn’t easing into things. It’s hard when you’re out for that long. Sometimes you can be tentative and stuff like that, but I think he did a heck of a job coming in full-steam.”
Durzi averaged the most ice time of any UHC skater in the first period and finished the game third in that category. His presence is a huge bonus for a team that’s desperately trying to squeeze into the playoffs.
Ice time among Utah defensemen tonight:
Sergachev: 23:51
Määttä: 22:30
Durzi: 21:37
Marino: 21:07
Cole: 15:09
Kesselring: 13:21
Good to see Sean Durzi getting right back into full swing.#UtahHC #GoKingsGo
For the first time in 19 days, Utah HC plays at the Delta Center on Sunday. They’ll take on the Vancouver Canucks, who currently hold the playoff spot that UHC is aiming for.
In the two teams’ only previous meeting, Utah pulled off a two-goal comeback to win with 12 seconds left in overtime. UHC will look to secure two points again in this meeting, but this time they’d rather do it in regulation.
Coaches often refer to these as four-point games because the winning team both records two points and prevents its opponent from getting two points.
Like Utah HC, the Canucks lost on Saturday and will now make the nighttime trek to Salt Lake City for the second half of their back-to-back.
It’s an early start on Sunday: 6 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on Utah 16 and Utah HC+.
