Much of this season has been a story of special teams for Utah Hockey Club — and not a good one.
While Utah’s power play and penalty kill have undoubtedly had their moments, the lack of consistency on both has dropped games.
Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena was a prime example of just that.
Utah was called for three stick penalties in the first period — including a double minor — and Nashville took advantage, scoring twice on the power play for a 2-0 lead.
Coming into Saturday’s matchup, the Predators had lost five of their previous six games. Despite the slump Nashville was going through, its power play was still finding ways to produce; before the game, it ranked 13th in the NHL with a 20.8% conversion rate.
That continued for the Predators against Utah.
Filip Forsberg gave Nashville an early lead while Alex Kerfoot sat in the penalty box for hooking. The forward picked up the puck above the left circle and snapped it past goaltender Connor Ingram for the 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period.
Nashville Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, left, and Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) chase the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
“They played hard, give them credit. I think they capitalized on their power play, the first, and then from there, it was hard to get to their slot and generate quality chances,” head coach André Tourigny said.
Nashville banked its second goal on the man advantage at 11:58. Logan Cooley and Olli Määttä were both sent off at 8:48. Cooley received a minor for hooking while Määttä got a double minor (four minutes) for high-sticking.
The combination of penalties resulted in a two-minute 5-on-3 followed by a two-minute 5-on-4 for the Predators. They struck on the latter with a tip-in goal from Jonathan Marchessault to make it 2-0.
Utah spent nearly half of the opening 10 minutes of the game on the penalty kill and, in hand, finished the first period with just four shots on goal and not much pace or proper execution.
Utah now ranks third in the league for most penalty minutes with a cumulative 161 this season.
“I think they got momentum from their power play and obviously got two goals off of it. We’ve got to try to kill those and give us momentum instead,” said Kevin Stenlund who is on Utah’s first penalty kill unit.
“I think just be more focussed and try to block shots more. Just details, it’s all about details. Gotta be sharp on those.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club forward Kevin Stenlund (82) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Los Angeles Kings, NHL pre-season hockey in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.
The Hockey Club had two power plays of its own to get back into the game but could not capitalize on either. Utah scored zero power-play goals through four games on the road trip. The team’s last success on the man advantage came on Oct. 30 against the Calgary Flames.
While the Hockey Club started the middle stanza with some sustained offensive-zone time, it was unable to find the back of the net. Instead, Nashville’s Forsberg potted his second of the night to extend his team’s lead to 3-0 at 11:05.
Forsberg, on the rush, danced through Määttä, Nick Schmaltz and Michael Kesselring at once while forcing his way to the crease before roofing the puck up and in. Marchessault also earned his second of the game with an empty-net tally at 18:15 of the third for the final 4-0 scoreline.
“They were a little bit harder than us today, won more battles,” Stenlund said.
Midway through the third, Utah’s defensemen accounted for 12 of the team’s 21 shots on goal; the forwards had nine. The Hockey Club’s forwards ended the night with 14 of a total of 26 shots on goal, but blueliner Kesselring — who scored Thursday against the Blues — led the team with five.
“I think on our side, we need to find a way to generate more offense from our O-zone play,” Tourigny said. “Offensively, we need to find a way to generate more offense without sacrificing our defense. That’s urgent for us.”
Utah was shut out for the fourth time this season and the second time this week on Saturday.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club coach André Tourigny during an NHL hockey game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024.
Utah faced three Central Division opponents on its four-game road trip — the Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators. The Hockey Club was only able to collect two of those six divisional points available.
While the season is young, these divisional points make all the difference at the end of the year if Utah wants to make a playoff push. The team is coming back to Utah with three of the available eight points on the trip.
“Still a long season. We’ve got a new [game] on Wednesday,” Stenlund said. “Just have to focus on that one and try to get the two points.”
