Friday night was a frustrating one for Utah Hockey Club fans.
For the second straight game, the Utah squandered its lead in the third period and lost in overtime, this time 3-2. Utah HC played a good all-around game against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets, but they just couldn’t get it done.
“It’s hard to win in this league,” said team captain Clayton Keller after the game. “That’s something we’re still figuring out.”
The Blue Jackets’ win moves them into the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They pulled it off despite the fact that they played in Las Vegas on Thursday night, where they beat the Golden Knights.
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In Logan Cooley’s absence, Alexander Kerfoot got a chance on the first line — and he capitalized on his opportunity.
He parked himself in front of the net at the start of the third period, spun off a check and banged home a rebound for his first goal in 15 games.
The @HarvardMHockey fellas putting in work 💪
Kerfy makes it a 2-0 game! pic.twitter.com/nGruuxIp7s
“They’re great players, easy to play with,” Kerfoot said of his new line mates, Keller and Nick Schmaltz. “They make a lot of plays around the ice.”
Kerfoot has now played on all four lines and at all three forward positions this year. He has been one of Utah’s top penalty killers and has taken occasional turns on the power play.
“He’s really versatile,” said head coach André Tourigny before the game. “He can do it all.”
Utah’s pregame message did not match its postgame message.
“You cannot feel sorry for yourself,” Tourigny said after morning skate on Friday. “(This) league will jump right at your throat. You can’t feel sorry for yourself.”
After the game, a reporter asked Tourigny if he was feeling “unlucky” or “snakebitten.”
“Oh yeah,” Tourigny responded. “Yeah. To say the least. If I had more of a vocabulary, I would find something worse than that.”
UTAH THAT RIGHT!
Z ENDS IT IN OT💥@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/JWijpYq7u4
He went on to recount the number of scoring chances Utah has had for and against it in the third periods of the last two games and compared them to the combined score of the periods.
“I don’t know what to say,” he said.
Sure, the bounces didn’t go their way — in terms of scoring chances, Utah dominated the game, but the scoreboard does not have a category for mere chances.
Like Tourigny said before the game, you can’t feel sorry for yourself. Part of learning to win is figuring out how to defend a lead. That’s something that Utah has struggled to do all season and something that needs to change.
Alright, let’s dive into those scoring chances.
Per Natural Stat Trick, Utah controlled 100% of the 5-on-5 high-danger scoring chances in the first two periods and 62.5% in the third. The odds were in Utah HC’s favor, but they just couldn’t pull it off.
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who scored the overtime winner, agreed.
“We really weren’t making any plays tonight,” he said. “(Kirill Marchenko) chips one in and then (Kent Johnson) just fires from a bad angle and got a lucky bounce.
“Sometimes you need those bounces. Tonight we got them. We worked hard. We didn’t really have much but we just stuck with it and just found a way to win.”
KJ NETS THE EQUALIZER! 💥@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/lsRcyAgGpO
That’s the type of mentality that now has the Blue Jackets in a playoff spot — something that virtually nobody expected of them going into the season.
Utah HC has a lot of skill in its lineup, but they seem to lack that “anything it takes” mentality that has driven the Blue Jackets’ success this season.
Once they develop that, they’ll be in a position to succeed — but again, something needs to change.
Utah’s home stand continues Sunday with a game against the St. Louis Blues, whom Utah beat 4-2 on Jan. 18.
Both teams are in the mix for a wildcard playoff spot, so as important as it is to stockpile all the points you can, it’s just as important to prevent your closest competitors from accruing points.
Thus, this is a four-point game, rather than a two-point game.
The game starts at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on Utah HC+ and Utah 16.
