André Tourigny was short and to the point.
“I think we didn’t do anything good,” said the Utah Hockey Club head coach.
His team had just given up a three-goal lead and allowed the Anaheim Ducks to win the game 5-4 in a shootout Sunday afternoon at Delta Center. Despite a four-point showing from captain Clayton Keller, Utah could not close out the third period and let the contest slide into a loss.
“It was kind of a back-and-forth game and we just weren’t good on our details,” Keller said. “Just kind of played a little too loose. That’s what happens — they get some life.”
Utah entered the final frame up 4-2 before Robby Fabbri knocked in a puck in front of the crease and Brett Leason snapped one past Jaxson Stauber — who got his third start of the season — to make it 4-4 at 15:15 while the Ducks were on a late third-period power play.
It was Logan Cooley who sat in the penalty box for a slashing penalty as Anaheim found the equalizer. The 20-year-old center did not see the ice after that and was held out of both overtime and the shootout because of the undisciplined play.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) looks to pass during the game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024.
“I will let you think about it,” said Tourigny regarding the reason behind Cooley’s benching.
It will have to be a lesson learned for Cooley, who is third in points on Utah with 30 (eight goals, 22 assists) through 30 games.
Before Utah’s second-half meltdown, Keller opened scoring just over a minute into the first period. The forward followed Juuso Välimäki’s point shot to the net and fought through three Anaheim players to knock in the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
It was the first of a career-high four points for Keller on Sunday. With an eventual two goals and two assists, the 26-year-old hit the milestone for the fourth time in his nine-year NHL tenure and picked up his eighth multi-point performance of the season.
“It’s huge,” linemate Barrett Hayton said. “Obviously he’s a huge leader in this group and the way he does it on the ice, leads, pushes everyone and expects a lot.”
After Fabbri tied the game 1-1 at 4:56, Keller helped set up Hayton on his first goal since Oct. 30. Keller wheeled it at the top of the zone to Olli Määttä, who found Hayton down low. Hayton patiently held onto the puck before backhanding it in five-hole for the 2-1 scoreline at 16:09.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley (92) looks to pass as Dallas Stars right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) defends during the third period of the game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.
Cooley extended Utah’s power-play streak to seven games with a goal at the beginning of the second period. The team has scored nine goals on the man advantage in that stretch, all from the first unit.
Keller found Cooley left open in the right face-off dot where he blasted a one-timer past Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostál for the 3-1 boost at 2:39. Cooley earned his eighth goal of the season on the play and his eighth point in the last five games.
“Special player. Loves the game,” Keller said of Cooley. “The power play, it takes some time to get that chemistry, read off each other. We’ve been working a lot in practice, talking about it and I think that’s ultimately what makes you successful.”
Utah padded its lead, 4-1, at 5:57 with Keller’s second tally of the afternoon and 13th of the year. This time, it was a snapshot from the high slot while Välimäki and Hayton got in front to screen the goaltender.
Isac Lundestrom scored for the Ducks to close out the middle frame and make it 4-2 heading into a third period in which Utah’s game-long lapses finally caught up to it.
Fabbri’s second of the matchup and Leason’s goal on the power play evened things ahead of a scoreless overtime.
“Right now it doesn’t feel like we walked away with a point with the way we handled the second half and obviously handled that lead,” Hayton said. “That can’t happen. It’s disappointing.”
Nick Schmaltz, Keller and Nick Bjugstad were selected for Utah during the shootout and all missed.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club forward Nick Schmaltz (8) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Los Angeles Kings, NHL pre-season hockey in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.
“It’s percentage,” said Tourigny of how he chooses who shoots.
Utah has a short window to digest its loss to Anaheim as it faces the Dallas Stars Monday night at Delta Center in the second game of the team’s back-to-back.
“We’ll address it in the morning tomorrow, the things that we need to do better. I still feel like we have a lot of confidence in this room,” Keller said. “Quick reset and onto tomorrow.”
Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.
