St. Paul, Minn. • Utah Hockey Club has had this week circled on the calendar.
Four consecutive games against Central Division opponents in the span of seven days. The playoff-picture buzz circling around the room even if not explicitly talked about. The heavy need to string victories together.
And, on Thursday, amid the internal and external pressures, Utah earned its third straight win with a 4-0 showing against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center and two more points in the Western Conference postseason hunt.
“We’ve been well aware of these games and they’re important games,” Lawson Crouse said. “Another one tomorrow night and it’s not going to be easy. This one feels good but have to reset and get ready for tomorrow.”
Backstopped by Karel Vejmelka’s 26-save shutout, Crouse was one of three goal-scorers for Utah. Barrett Hayton scored twice while Clayton Keller potted one on the power play.
“I’m so happy that he’s finally putting the puck in the net. Hayton is a guy that works extremely hard and goes to the dirty area for his teammates,” Crouse said. “Very happy to see him get rewarded. He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. It’s fun to watch.”
Hayton gave Utah an early lead with an all-around-effort play that started with a strong forecheck behind the net. The forward won the puck before it made it up to Nick DeSimone at the point who released a blast that Hayton tipped in front. Hayton’s 10th goal of the season — and fourth point in two games — made it 1-0 at 1:46.
Utah Hockey Club center Barrett Hayton (27) celebrates after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Since Dylan Guenther’s injury caused some reshuffling in the forward group, Hayton has been centering the second line between Matias Maccelli and Josh Doan. He’s been an asset for head coach André Tourigny who believes Hayton makes any combination he’s skating with better.
“I love Hayton’s mindset in the game. Yes, he can produce, he can score, he can pass, he can make plays,” Tourigny said. “But he does a lot of other things where sometimes not everybody will see it. The blocked shots … his focus and intensity defensively.”
The Club doubled its advantage with a tally from Keller who was sporting a new black eye after taking a puck to the face in Monday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. The captain looped the puck below the left face-off dot and sniped it past Wild netminder Filip Gustavsson while on the power play for the 2-0 lift at 15:55. Keller extended his goal streak to three games and point streak to five.
Keller — who now has 51 points in 46 games — was left off the United States’ 4 Nations Face-Off roster earlier this season. Bill Guerin, who is the general manager of the Wild, is also Team USA’s general manager. Keller continued his dominant play in front of Guerin who thought his group would be better without the Utah leader.
Minnesota, expectedly, countered in the middle frame after getting just five shots on goal in the first period. Vejmelka was sturdy and sharp as the Wild doubled their chances in his first start since Jan. 16 which turned into his first shutout of the season.
“The boys played really well in front of me and they helped me a lot. It’s a big team win tonight,” Vejmelka said. “Standings are pretty tight, every point matters. It’s a huge win for us. We just need to keep that mindset every game and keep going.”
Crouse padded Utah’s gap with his seventh goal of the year and first point since Jan. 2. Olli Määttä carried the puck into the zone and threw it toward the net from the left side where Crouse batted it in for the 3-0 scoreline at 14:14. With the assist on the play, Määttä has points in the last two games.
“Just putting pucks [at the net] and putting bodies there was important. We talked about playing an inside game and we did that,” Crouse said. “I think we did a good to weather the storm and then obviously capitalized when we could.”
Hayton, again, scored within the first two minutes of a period, but this time it was the third. The Club did not give Minnesota much — if any at all — space to try to launch a comeback. Hayton worked his way around the Wild’s crease and back-handed the rebound of DeSimone’s shot into the net for the final 4-0 standing at 1:48.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club forward Barrett Hayton (27) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Los Angeles Kings, NHL pre-season hockey in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.
“I think I take a lot of pride in having that trust on both ends of the ice. Kind of being able to play in any moment and have an impact on it,” Hayton said. “That’s something that I put a lot of emphasis on coming into this season. … I think I’m taking strides in the right direction on being consistent every night.”
Utah will have the night to digest this one before taking on the Jets for the second time in four days Friday night at Canada Life Centre. The Club has collected a full six points in the three-game streak of divisional opponents thus far.
The hardest game is yet to come.
“Obviously we can play as confident as we want right now,” Crouse said. “But when we play with speed and we play smart, we’re a tough team to beat.”
