Boston • André Tourigny called for passion and urgency from his team.
Those were two qualities he did not see enough of from Utah Hockey Club in Thursday’s 1-0 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Utah was shut out for the fifth time this season and dropped its third consecutive game as the power play struggled and lineup changes could not cause a spark.
“We have to make sure we learn from it. And in a hurry, we learn,” Tourigny said.
“I didn’t like the urgency and the speed around the puck. The guys have to realize that if we want to score goals, we have to get in the dirty area. We need to get there with passion. Not just get there — get there with a burning desire to score goals.”
There was not a burning desire to do much of anything against the Bruins. Utah came out flat and remained that way for most of the night. Being plagued with penalties did not help matters; Utah was put on the penalty kill seven times in Boston.
Spending 14 minutes of a 60-minute contest skating down a man costs any team momentum. And yet, Utah finds itself in that situation more times than not.
“I think we took way too many penalties. It’s kind of been a story for a lot of the year. I feel like we take a ton of minors,” Nick Schmaltz said. “When you get in the box a lot, it gives their best players an opportunity to feel the puck and get into the game.”
That’s exactly what happened in the second period. The Bruins — who came into Thursday’s game with a league-worst 11.7 power-play percentage — were able to get one past Utah on the man advantage. Granted, Utah gave Boston five opportunities on the power play to get it right leading up to Elias Lindholm’s goal at 12:41.
With chaos in front of goaltender Karel Vejmelka’s crease, Lindholm knocked in the rebound of Brad Marchand’s initial shot for the 1-0 lead and, ultimately, the final scoreline.
Utah’s own power play continued to prove unfruitful as it went 0-for-4 on Thursday and is now 0-for-11 in the last two games. It is almost as if Utah enters the man advantage knowing it won’t score and proceeds to — consciously or not — play with that mentality.
“Maybe just see one go in. It’s frustrating,” Schmaltz said of how Utah could get its offense going. “I feel like a lot of guys are getting a lot of chances. Myself included, maybe just gripping the stick a little bit too tight. Have to have a little bit more poise and confidence with the puck when you get those grade-a opportunities.”
After making adjustments to both the lines and power play units ahead of Thursday’s matchup in Boston, Utah had little response nor offensive juice. It forced Tourigny to shake things up once again heading into the third period.
The coach reverted to line combinations Utah was using earlier in the season — namely the trios of Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton and Schmaltz as well as Jack McBain, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.
It did little to push the pace, though. Utah had nine shots on goal in the final frame, none of which were able to be the equalizer.
Again, Utah needed a line or player to pot the killer goal to tie things in the third and force overtime. Again, the team could not find it. And again, Utah lost a game it had opportunities to win.
“We weren’t our best, but we still had a chance to win,” Olli Määttä said. “Games like this, we just have to find a way to produce more. Kind of take over the game. It’s a one-goal game — games like this it seems like we can’t find a way to win them now.”
(Steven Senne | AP) Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) is unable to get the puck past Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Boston.
Vejmelka was Utah’s best player against the Bruins and kept his team in the fight, especially on the penalty kill. Vejmelka is Utah’s No. 1 goaltender for now as Connor Ingram is day to day with an upper-body injury. Ingram remained in Utah for evaluation and is not expected to join the team on the road trip. Jaxson Stauber was called up from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners to stand in as backup.
Vejmelka stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced, and yet, it still resulted in a Utah loss.
A lot could be said about what needs to change about this Utah team to start seeing consistent success. But the simple, bottom line is Utah has to start scoring.
“You feel like you’re getting a lot of looks. You’re probably pressing a little more than you should,” Schmaltz said. “When you’re scoring, it just kind of comes naturally and you feel confident in those situations. When you’re not, it’s tough.”
The team will have another chance to find its offensive touch Saturday when it faces the Pittsburgh Penguins.
