How is Utah Hockey Club faring without its star defenseman?

Utah Hockey Club’s defensemen have gotten familiar with the next-man-up mentality this season.

Mikhail Sergachev is the latest name on the list of blueliners who have been sidelined; he is day to day with an upper-body injury and has missed the last two games.

The 26-year-old logs a team-high 25:45 of ice time per night and is fifth on the team in points with 30 (eight goals, 22 assists), which leads all Utah defensemen. Sergachev’s impact is felt 5-on-5, on the power play and penalty kill.

Accordingly, his absence has left a gap.

But, as the Club has done all season, it’s called on its healthy players to elevate their games and take on more responsibility.

That they have done.

“There’s no such thing as a full lineup. It just doesn’t exist,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Our D-corps is not six players. It’s eight or nine or 10. And I think they do a great job. What I like is they dig deep in key moments.”

John Marino’s arrival has helped steady the backend without Sergachev. The defenseman — who was traded to Utah this summer from the New Jersey Devils — made his team debut on Jan. 14 and has played in four games. The 27-year-old missed training camp and the first half of the year after undergoing lower-back surgery in October.

While Marino skated on the third pair with Juuso Välimäki in his first two games, he was moved to the first pair with Olli Määttä to fill Sergachev’s spot. Marino was also placed at the point on the second power-play unit while Michael Kesselring moved to the first unit Sergachev usually conducts.

“It felt good to have a little more trust from the coaches and everything. Being able to just be thrown in the fire, not be too passive out there or be concerned about the minutes or anything,” Marino said. “Once you get in the rhythm of things, start playing a little more, go with the flow of the game and kind of let the game come to you.”

Määttä, who is a left-shot defenseman, has been playing on his off-side when paired with Sergachev who is also a lefty — Määttä was on the right in that duo. Now with Marino — who has a right shot — Määttä has shifted over to the left which he said is more comfortable in terms of angles and positioning.

The duo was productive once again in Utah’s 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Määttä scored his first goal with the Club while Marino had 22:06 of ice time, one shot and three blocks.

“Obviously he’s a good player so it’s pretty easy to play with him,” Määttä said of Marino. “Missing Sergy, you have to spread those big minutes he plays out and I think guys did a great job of that.”

In Marino’s first matchup taking on both top-pair and special-team duties — Saturday against the St. Louis Blues — he logged his first point with Utah with an assist on Nick Schmaltz’s goal and made a sprawling block in the third period to protect the Club’s 4-2 lead at the time.

Connor Ingram was down in the crease, leaving the net empty for what looked like was going to be an easy goal from Jordan Kyrou. But, Marino came sliding across to the right side and blocked the shot with his body.

“That was all time. That was incredible — it was just so Johnny. Come out of nowhere and wear one like that. The crowd went nuts after it,” Nick DeSimone said. “Really just got the bench going. You love seeing that kind of stuff.”

DeSimone is another player who has stepped up on the blueline. Since getting claimed off of waivers from the Devils by Utah on Jan. 5, DeSimone has played four games and been a reliable, simple plug-in.

DeSimone already knew Marino from their time in New Jersey together last season, and now, the two are teammates once again.

“It was nice to have a familiar face with him,” DeSimone said. “The first day I got here he invited me over and we hung out. It was nice to have a good buddy here.”

Välimäki, who is DeSimone’s D-partner on the third pair, is also familiar with Utah’s newest acquisition. The defensemen spent time on the Stockton Heat — the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames — in the 2021-22 season when they were both part of the organization. It has helped them get acquainted in Utah.

“We were partners for a little bit, so I know Juuso’s game. I think he knows mine as well so we are pretty comfortable with each other in that aspect,” DeSimone said. “We can read off each other. I feel like I know what he’s going to do next and I hope he feels the same as me.”

The combination of Kesselring and Ian Cole has stayed consistent through Sergachev’s injury. However, Kesselring was given a new opportunity with the first power play unit and he quickly capitalized on it against the Blues.

The 25-year-old ripped it from the right side for his first-ever NHL power-play goal, showcasing the strength of his shot and tying the game 1-1 in the first period.

“We’ve got to win games so guys have to step up when guys go down. Once we get them back, they’ll just elevate everyone’s game,” Kesselring said. “I think I had to prove people wrong to get to a power play in the NHL so it’s always special. It feels good.”

The team hopes that Sergachev’s injury is not a long-term issue. It is still classified as day-to-day. But, until he is back in the lineup, Utah’s backend is not backing down from the challenge. The points are too important to give up just because of a missing piece.

“Definitely a good start. It speaks to our team, too,” Marino said. “It’s a team where we want to compete, we want to win, we want to be in the playoff picture.”

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