Nick Bjugstad believes he and his teammates have another level left to them.
They just have not been able to reach it.
Utah Hockey Club did not get enough from anybody in Tuesday’s 5-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at Delta Center. It has left the team questioning how to emerge out of its slump — and specifically out of its second-period struggles.
“It’s not going the way we want right now,” Bjugstad said. “It’s time for everyone to look in the mirror.”
After carrying the play, earning a 2-1 lead and holding Montreal to three shots on goal in the first period, Utah — like it has often this season — looked like a different team in the second. And not in a good way.
“We’ve talked about it as a group — the second period as a whole hasn’t been great this season,” Bjugstad said. “We have to be better as players. We know what we have to do. It’s frustrating losing a game like that. Especially the way we came out in the first, I thought we lost our composure a bit.”
The Club spent six of the first 10 minutes on the penalty kill, could not sustain offensive zone time and allowed the Canadiens to walk right to the net without interference. That is what happened on Kirby Dach’s goal at 18:34 which gave Montreal a 3-2 lead after Patrik Laine tied the game earlier in the middle frame off the rush.
Utah Hockey Club center Nick Bjugstad (17) smiles on the ice during warmups prior to an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)
“It built up in the second period and instead of recovering, we got worse. That was the game,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Today we arrived in the second period — we were so good in the first — I don’t know for which reason we thought the second period would not be a fight or whatever.”
It is a curious pattern that Utah has not been able to shake through 43 games this season. Whether it’s a mental break, longer changes or losing gas in the defensive zone, The Club consistently finds ways to lose games in the second period.
“From myself and everyone, I think we’ve got way more. That’s about it,” Bjugstad said. “I don’t really have more of an explanation. It’s frustrating because we know we can be better. We know we could have a better record.”
Utah got reinforcements on the backend Tuesday with the return of John Marino but it did not change the outcome.
Marino — and a 2024 fifth-round pick — were traded to Utah in June from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2024 and 2025 second-round pick. The defenseman missed all of training camp ahead of undergoing lower-back surgery in October. Marino skated with the team for around three weeks leading up to his official game debut.
The Harvard University product logged 18:04 of total ice time and played the majority of the game on the third pair with Juuso Välimäki. All the d-partners rotated in the final stanza.
“It took a couple shifts to get your legs under you and just kind of the rhythm and flow of the game,” Marino said. “It’s tough, missing out on training camp and everything. But you’re able to come in and have a couple practices with everyone, be around the group as much as you can. Staff, organization everyone in the room has been great helping me.”
Before things unraveled, Josh Doan — in his third game with Utah since getting recalled from the AHL — gave his team a 1-0 lead while stationed in front of the net on the first power play unit. The 22-year-old forward jumped on the rebound of Clayton Keller’s initial shot and knocked it in at 2:11. Nick Schmaltz’s secondary assist on the play extended his point streak to three games.
Montreal was quick to respond. Mike Matheson weaved through Utah players while on the breakaway and tucked it past Karel Vejmelka to make it 1-1 at 3:18.
The Club regained its edge at the end of the first, just as its fourth power play of the period expired. Bjugstad’s back-handed shot on the left doorstep gave Utah a 2-1 lift at 19:06 and marked his first goal since Nov. 23 — and his fifth of the season.
(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.
The Canadiens’ two-goal second period put them ahead 3-2 going into the third.
Utah lost all rhythm.
“There’s no reason to have an excuse,” Tourigny said. “We need to show up in the second and be even better. Because you know the other side is going to push.”
While Logan Cooley tied the game 3-3 just over three minutes into the third period with a wrist shot from the right side (and his 12th goal of the season), Cole Caufield swiftly struck back with a tip-in tally at 6:33 for the 4-3 scoreline. Dach’s second of the night — scored at 16:15 of the third — sealed the 5-3 win for Montreal.
Utah has now lost four of its last five games, three of which have been on home ice. Points were hard to come by at Delta Center in December and things have not changed in the new year.
“When it’s times like this you just work,” Bjugstad said. “You’ve got to find ways to work.”
