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Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) takes a shot at the goal during an NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 22, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
As much as Clayton Keller has excelled on the ice this season, his golf skills have probably taken a hit. He had to leave his backyard chip-and-putt in Arizona when the team moved to Utah.
But, barring a hockey miracle, he’ll have plenty of time for golf this spring. With 10 games to go and a 10-point gap between Utah HC and the playoffs, MoneyPuck gives the Utah Hockey Club a 0.9% chance of squeezing in.
The gap stems, in part, from a historic loss — the worst in franchise history.
Utah lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-0 on Thursday, a little more than a week after they fell 7-1 to Edmonton.
“It was terrible from the start to the finish,” said Mikhail Sergachev, who made his return to Tampa after playing seven seasons for the Lightning. “We didn’t play nearly the game we wanted to play, and it showed.”
Head coach André Tourigny agreed.
“It’s really disappointing, the way we came out,” he said. “(We) didn’t win enough battles, didn’t get on the inside. You play against a good team like that, you need to be ready to fight, and in our situation, it’s disappointing.”
On a slightly comical note, UHC put eight goals past Lightning goaltender Brandon Halverson on Saturday (though two were disallowed). Five days later, the Bolts returned the favor with eight of their own.
Nikita Kucherov had the most casual four-point game you’ll ever see, raising his total to 105 on the season — just three short of Nathan MacKinnon, despite the fact that he’s played four games less. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jake Guentzel each scored two goals.
Utah Hockey for dummies
As hurt as Utah HC fans are by a few ugly losses these past couple weeks, the glass is still half full.
Management stated on numerous occasions throughout the season that the goal was to be playing meaningful games at the end of the year. To this point, that’s exactly what they’ve done.
The only way to learn how to win in the NHL is to experience it. Being in this playoff race will absolutely help the likes of Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan and even Keller as they develop into bona fide stars.
This season was a perfect building block, and if they can carry these lessons into next season, their golf clubs will collect lots of dust next spring.
Utah Hockey for casual fans
I get it. When you’re pushing for a playoff spot, you can’t afford to take any risks, so you resort to the strategy that has always worked: starting Karel Vejmelka. But it’s not working anymore.
Thursday marked 15 starts in a row for the man they call “Veggie” — the most consecutive starts for any goalie since Jacob Markström in 2021. There was an era in which goalies could do that with minimal consequences, but the game is too demanding nowadays.
Vejmelka’s worst two games in terms of save percentage have been these last two (excluding a couple games his rookie year in which he played less than 10 minutes).
Veggie the goalie and veggies in your fridge have something in common: They’re the most important thing until they’re spoiled.
At this point, Veggie the goalie has been left out of the fridge too long.
Shot taken. Shot completehttps://t.co/GS1KrKpMPmpic.twitter.com/15D1enYLD4
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 27, 2025
Overworking a player can have long-term consequences. Tired players are typically more susceptible to injury and when their play drops off the way Vejmelka’s has, their confidence can take a massive hit.
Jaxson Stauber doesn’t have the same type of resume as Vejmelka, but he still gives the team a chance to win — he proved that in his 6-0 shutout over the mighty Vegas Golden Knights in November. It’s probably time for him to take some of the load off Vejmelka’s shoulders.
Utah Hockey for nerds
Coming off a 5-1 loss at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, Tourigny decided to switch up the defense pairings. Sean Durzi teamed up with Ian Cole, while Michael Kesselring went with Olli Määttä.
A quick glance at the scoreboard will indicate how that went, but let’s dive deeper into it.
Durzi and Cole
This duo allowed two goals, but its underlying numbers weren’t nearly as bad. Per Natural Stat Trick, they controlled 78% of the shot attempts and were slightly better than even in terms of expected goals. They allowed one more high-danger scoring chance than they gave up.
That being said, Durzi and Cole were gifted a lot of offensive zone starts. Just one of their face-offs occurred in the defensive zone, while the other 13 were split between the neutral and offensive zones. That makes them more likely to excel in the above categories than players who are starting at the other end of the ice.
Kesselring and Määttä
Kesselring and Määttä were not on the ice together for any goals against, though they did give up nearly twice as many expected goals against as expected goals for.
An even 50% of the shot attempts were in their favor while they were on the ice.
Three of their 14 face-offs were in the defensive zone.
Marino and Sergachev
Sergachev and John Marino have played together in most of the latter’s games since he returned from injury this season, but it’s only fair that they also be put under the microscope.
They were responsible for three goals against. The expected goals were not in their favor and the shot attempts were even.
That being said, half of their face-offs were in the defensive zone, while the other half were split evenly between the neutral and offensive zones. That indicates that they were primarily utilized in defensive situations, with the occasional offensive opportunity sprinkled in.
At any rate, it will be interesting to see whether Tourigny keeps these pairings on Friday or goes back to the groups that had them in the playoff race for so long.
What’s next?
UHC now flies across the state to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Friday.
Reports indicate that newly acquired star Brad Marchand could make his Panthers debut against Utah HC on Friday.
The 36-year-old’s talent defies his age; he netted 21 goals and 47 points with the Boston Bruins this season. He left the Bruins’ game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 1 with an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since.
The last meeting between Florida and Utah ended with a 4-1 score in favor of the Cats, but that’s including a pair of empty-netters. Tourigny said after the game that his team’s defensive play was “solid.”
The game starts at 5 p.m. MDT and will be televised on Utah HC+, Utah 16 and NHL Network.
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