For the fourth time this season, the Utah Hockey Club failed to score a goal on Saturday night. Unlike the previous three shutout losses, Karel Vejmelka was not in net.
It was a 4-0 loss at the hands of the Nashville Predators, who came into the game in last place in the NHL. The Predators’ win bumps them up four spots in the standings — still far from where they want to be, but a step in the right direction.
Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault each scored twice for the Predators and Juuse Saros stopped all 26 shots he faced.
“We need to find a way to generate more offense without sacrificing our defense,” said Utah HC coach André Tourigny after the game.
Each NHL team holds an annual “Hockey Fights Cancer” night in November to show support for those affected by the disease and to raise funds to combat it. That was the occasion in Nashville on Saturday.
Fighting for a cure 💜
📍@BrdgstoneArena
⏰ 7 p.m. CT
📺 @FanDuelSN_SO
📻 @1025TheGame, El Jefe
🤝 @VUMCchildren
📰 https://t.co/YQ9w59JqZ0
🎟️ https://t.co/YW8QYYdton pic.twitter.com/JmEL0sq9GX
This Hockey Fights Cancer night means more to me personally than in years past, as my grandmother lost her battle with cancer on Wednesday. She will be dearly missed.
If you feel so inclined, visit the Victory Over Cancer Foundation website to make a donation.
Utah HC will hold its Hockey Fights Cancer night on Nov. 29 against the Edmonton Oilers.
What needs to happen for Utah HC to score more consistently?
“It was tough to get to their slot and generate quality chances,” Tourigny said. “We need to find a way to generate more offense from our (offensive) zone play.”
What does that mean? It means Utah HC had a hard time getting the puck to high-percentage scoring areas — the middle of the ice in the opponent’s zone.
That’s exactly what Forsberg did to get his second goal, as seen below.
The mustache is alive 👨 pic.twitter.com/jjEgInX2I7
Money Puck’s map shows that almost all of Utah HC’s shots came from the perimeter of the offensive zone. It’s difficult to score from so far away. The goalies in today’s NHL are too good.
If Utah wants to score more, it has to do as Tourigny says and find ways to penetrate into the middle of the ice.
The Predators’ defense deserves a lot of credit. It wasn’t that Utah HC wasn’t trying to get to the front of the net. The Predators just did a really good job at keeping them away. They just suffocated all offense.
On paper, Utah HC’s penalty kill seemed to struggle — you never aim for a 50% success rate. But given the circumstances, it really wasn’t that bad.
Utah got hit with an unfortunate situation in the first period. The referees called two penalties at once on Utah HC, and one of them was a double-minor for high-sticking. That means they had to play two men down for two minutes and one man down for another two minutes.
Utah HC killed the full 5-on-3, but Jonathan Marchessault took advantage of the tired penalty killers and scored on a sweet deflection.
Told ya the power play was feeling it 😏 pic.twitter.com/McHhNeRAnX
On the Predators’ first power play goal, scored by Filip Forsberg, Utah HC didn’t really do anything wrong. The puck squirted out of a board battle, the Predators picked it up, Forsberg received a pass and he fired a shot from the top of the faceoff circle.
That’s a pretty low-percentage shooting area, but Forsberg’s release is among the best in the world.
Of course, the best way to prevent power play goals is to stay out of the penalty box. Utah HC did that in the second and third periods, but those eight penalty minutes in the first period dug them a hole that they couldn’t get out of.
Confidence can be a major limiting factor for young players as they start their NHL careers. They often go from being the best on the ice in one league to the worst on the ice in the NHL. They often hesitate to make big plays out of fear that they’ll make mistakes.
Maveric Lamoureux had the opposite problem on Saturday night.
In the first period, he threw an overly confident stretch pass from his own zone, hoping to spring a teammate on an odd-man rush. It didn’t go as planned.
The Predators picked it off in the neutral zone, advanced into Utah HC’s zone and forced Alex Kerfoot to take a penalty. The Predators would, of course, score on the ensuing power play.
In the third period, I had to double-check my broadcast to make sure it hadn’t somehow skipped back to the first period without me noticing, because he threw the exact same pass.
It was picked off once again and carried into the Utah HC zone exactly as it had been before. It again resulted in a penalty, though this time it was against the Predators.
Tourigny is well-known for his ability to motivate young players. No matter he decides to correct this tendency, Utah HC fans can trust that it will be in the best interests of both the player and the team.
After what feels like an eternity, Utah HC returns to Salt Lake City Saturday night in preparation for Wednesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
And after what feels like several eternities, Utah HC jerseys will most likely be available for purchase at that game. Get there early because if the commemorative pucks are any indication of the demand for Utah HC merchandise, they will sell out quickly.
As for the hockey itself, this will be a true challenge for Utah HC. The Hurricanes are in first place in the Metropolitan Division and fourth place in the NHL.
Unlike most teams, they play man-on-man defense — a very aggressive system. Their blue line boasts renowned defensive defenseman Jaccob Slavin, 2017 Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns, Stanley Cup champion Dmitry Orlov and several other bona fide top-four defensemen.
The high-powered defense corps has resulted in the Hurricanes allowing fewer goals against than any other team this year. They’re also seventh in the league in goals for.
The game starts at 7 p.m. MDT and will be streamed on Utah HC+ and Utah 16. Tickets are also available on Ticketmaster for as low as $46 at the time of writing.
