Utah Hockey Club’s first season has been defined by these numbers

Here’s a number: the Utah Hockey Club is now 25 games into its first season.

With that in mind, and after some yo-yo performances recently, it’s worth taking stock of what’s going on at the Delta Center on the ice.

Here are some numbers to know.

1.20

That’s the difference between the goals allowed per game by the season’s starting goaltender, Connor Ingram (3.61), and the team’s current starting goaltender Karel Vejmelka (2.41).

While Ingram is one of hockey’s best stories — he won last year’s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy after a return from mental health issues — an undisclosed upper-body injury has him sidelined for now. (It’s unclear when he’ll return. Head coach Andre Tourigny originally indicated that it would likely be a day-to-day issue, but later said the team expected Ingram to miss more time.)

Vejmelka, if we’re honest, largely took the job from Ingram anyway. While Ingram’s GAA is lowest in the league among goalies with 10 starts, Vejmelka ranks 5th-best in the same category. That’s reflected in the two goalies' save percentages, too. Right now, he’s the better ‘tender — and his terrific performances have kept Utah in games it wouldn’t have been in otherwise.

$4.3 million

That’s Lawson Crouse’s salary, which ranks him third among forwards on the roster.

Unfortunately, he only has four goals, and one assist to show for it; he ranks all the way down in 13th among Utah’s forwards in points. Crouse has been a consistent presence for the Coyotes, with 20 goals in each of the last three years. It’s the production that put the Associate Captain’s A on his chest.

He’s known as a physical forward — and it has shown with the number of hits and fights he’s been a part of. But he’s disappointed in other physical aspects of the game, namely, creating traffic in front of the net and in defensive moments in transition. Utah needs more.

5%

The approximate number of Delta Center’s attendees who follow along with the H-O-T-T-O-G-O arms-above-head dance from Chappell Roan’s hit song.

While Roan has become one of music’s pop icons over the last year, her hit’s dance still hasn’t achieved the ubiquity of the Village People’s YMCA similar arm flails. Roughly 40% of Delta Center attendees follow along to that song, according to metrics sloppily compiled by my eyeballs. Perhaps it just takes time.

32nd

Where Utah ranks in their penalty kill. Really, the penalties are killing them.

It’s perhaps the most glaring issue of the season: Utah can not keep players out of the penalty box, and once they get there, the team bleeds goals. For 12.3 minutes per game, they have someone in the sin bin, higher than any other team in the NHL. It’s over one-fifth of their games!

That in itself wouldn’t necessarily be disqualifying; after all, the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers led the league in penalty minutes last season. But unlike the Panthers, Utah HC bleeds both shots and goals once they’re down a man (or two). No other team has allowed more expected goals in 4-on-5 situations than Utah.

The chief culprit has been Maveric Lamoureux, the 20-year-old defenseman called up once Utah’s injury bug struck early in the season. That makes sense.

65

The combined age of Utah’s current second line: Jack McBain (24), Logan Cooley (20), and Dylan Guenther (21).

It’s the youngest line coach André Tourigny could create with his current assortment of forwards, but youth on top of youth on top of youth has actually been the most effective look for the team. That line has a plus-four rating, more than any other combination of forwards that Tourigny has thrown out there.

It’s been potent, as Cooley eats up ice with his speed and mobility, while Guenther snipes the opportunities that come his way. This is the future of the Utah Hockey Club, and this is why it looks so promising.

103.77

The shot speed of one attempt by Utah defenseman Michael Kesselring — which set an NHL record when it occurred this October.

That’s via the NHL’s new EDGE tracking data, which only came into existence last season; thanks to differences in radar guns and measurement techniques, we don’t really know how it would compare to numbers from the past. And indeed, Kesselring’s record was bested later this season with a 104.69 mph shot from Buffalo’s Tage Thompson. But it is pretty cool that, for a short time at least, a Utah player held the record for the fastest-ever shot.

619

The number of hits Utah has taken — which ranks 31st in the league.

The Florida Panthers have taken more (622), perhaps as teams take shots at the top. But the Panthers dish it as well as they take it, giving out a whopping 678 hits of their own. Meanwhile, Utah’s only dished out a measly 383 hits, third-lowest in the NHL.

24%? 35%? 70%?

Utah Hockey Club’s playoff odds this season, depending on which stats you want to believe.

The lowest estimate, 24% comes from The Athletic, which simulates the rest of the season 50,000 times, factoring in “each team’s projected strength, current health and strength of schedule” in the model.

Meanwhile, Hockey Reference estimates Utah has a 35.6% chance of making the postseason, using a model that won an NBA projection contest.

But if you’re a Utah Hockey Club fan, you’ll want to believe in MoneyPuck.com’s playoff odds, which give the home team a 70.1% chance of making the playoffs. While Utah currently stands outside of the playoff ranks, MoneyPuck’s metrics see Utah’s chances as higher thanks to stronger recent performances from the team. MoneyPuck sees a lot of big wins but close losses recently, and thinks those might average out to closer wins over the long run.

It’s worth noting that our NHL beat writer, Belle Fraser, agrees with the pessimistic models, and finds it unlikely Utah makes the playoffs. Vegas does too, giving +250 odds; that’s roughly a 29% implied probability.