Jaxson Stauber was given a hefty assignment from Utah Hockey Club.
On Saturday night, the 25-year-old goaltender was put in net for his first-ever game with Utah and first NHL game since Feb. 2023. What’s more, it was against a Vegas Golden Knights team averaging the fourth-most goals in the league (3.75) per night.
Stauber — backed by an explosive offensive effort from Utah — posted a 29-save shutout at T-Mobile arena in the 6-0 win. It was both Stauber’s first NHL shutout and Utah’s first as a franchise.
“It feels unreal. It’s something you dream of as a kid. I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates tonight,” Stauber said. “It’s been a while since I’ve gotten the opportunity to play in the NHL, so was just looking forward to the opportunity.”
Stauber signed with Utah in July as a free agent and started the year in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners, posting a 2.29 goals against average and .930 save percentage through seven games before getting recalled on Nov. 20. His arrival was due to Connor Ingram’s upper-body injury which has kept him out of the lineup.
Stauber’s poised performance was partially fueled by the production of his teammates in front of him. Nick Schmaltz and Michael Carcone potted their first goals of the season while Clayton Keller snapped his scoring drought. Alex Kerfoot and Logan Cooley extended their respective point streaks, too, en route to Utah logging six goals for the second time in a week.
“I think it was good to have Schmaltz get the monkey off his back, Carcone get the monkey off his back,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Those two guys are important point producers for us, so it was good for that.”
Schmaltz’s first came at 10:35 of the first period to give Utah a 3-0 lead. Keller dished a cross-crease pass to Schmaltz who one-timed in from the left side. The first-liner later doubled down on the power play to make it 6-0 with a snapshot by the right hash marks at 5:28 of the second.
“Kind of a little sigh of relief, feel a little lighter once you see one go in. Hopefully that can bring more confidence to my game and more goals,” Schmaltz said.
Keller earned his first goal in 12 games (since Oct. 30) for the 1-0 advantage early in the opening frame, and Carcone got his first of the season for the 5-0 boost at 1:02 of the second.
“That’s when you learn the most about yourself, when things aren’t going your way. It’s how you respond, how you get better every single day. It might take longer than you want, but those are the times you learn the most,” Keller said. “It’s good to see some guys score, for sure.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club forward Alex Kerfoot (15) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Los Angeles Kings, NHL pre-season hockey in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.
Kerfoot and Cooley both scored their second goals in as many games. Kerfoot made it 2-0 with Utah’s first-ever short-handed goal; a net-front Cooley deflected one in later in the period for the 4-0 lead after 20 minutes. The 20-year-old forward now has a career-high five-game point streak.
Despite Utah’s wide advantage, it did not let up or allow Vegas back into the fight. Saturday marked the first time in nine games (since Nov. 7 against the St. Louis Blues) that Utah did not give up a goal in the second period, and the team continued to play stingy defense in the third.
“I think just attacking and not sitting back,” Keller said. “We’re a fast team and I think we have our most success when we have the puck on the sticks and we’re making plays, we’re not sitting back and waiting for them to come to us. It’s a step in the right direction for us moving forward.”
Utah Hockey Club proved what it can be when all its players — namely, the veterans — are producing. With Lawson Crouse scoring in Friday’s loss against the Edmonton Oilers, Utah got contributions this weekend from its three vets who led the team in goals last season.
When they are going it, evidently, makes a difference.
The Utah Hockey Club celebrates their fourth goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Sam Morris)
Utah has often been left searching for timely, backbreaking tallies this season. Saturday, the team got plenty and could separate itself early in the night. Utah’s contributions up and down the lineup demonstrated the offensive powerhouse the team turns into when the experience and youth within the roster show up on the same night. Plus, of course, good goaltending.
“I thought we stuck with it. Our goaltender was great when we needed him,” Schmaltz said. “We locked it down pretty well defensively and kept making plays offensively.”
Utah picked up three of the four points available in its second back-to-back of the season and will be back at Delta Center Monday night to face a divisional opponent in the Dallas Stars.
