Utah Hockey Club saw an octopus — and a loss — against the Detroit Red Wings

An octopus came flying onto the Delta Center ice.

What started as a tradition for Detroit Red Wings fans in 1952 made its way to Salt Lake City for the first time on Monday night as Utah Hockey Club fell 5-1.

The ice crew, equipped with their shovels, came out to scoop the octopus off of the surface to allow the teams to finish the third period. It was the bookend to a slimy showing from Utah.

The “Legend of the Octopus” goes back to when Detroit won the Stanley Cup in 1952. Fans reportedly threw an octopus on the ice at the beginning of the run and the Red Wings went on to sweep the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens en route to the championship. It took Detroit just eight wins (the same number of arms on an octopus) to hoist the trophy.

So, the octopus ritual stuck. Utah — 73 years later — got an up-close view of it due to a mix of turnovers, struggles on the power play and a stagnant offense that awarded the Red Wings a win.

“I think for the most part it was a good effort defensively. Clogged up the middle, took away chances, blocked shots when we had to,” Ian Cole said. “But ultimately, goals went in the net and that’s the determining factor of whether you win or lose.”

Dylan Guenther put Utah ahead under four minutes into the first period while on the power play. Clayton Keller got the puck in the right corner and swung it across the zone to Guenther, who was planted at his — now staple — left circle position. The 21-year-old ripped it by Detroit netminder Alex Lyon for the 1-0 lead at 3:46. It was his 26th goal of the season (a team-high) and 100th career point.

That was Utah’s first and last goal on the man advantage on Monday. Despite the Red Wings having the worst penalty kill in the league — coming in at 69% ahead of the matchup — the Club could not get anything going for the rest of the night. Utah proceeded to go 0 for 4 on the power play after Guenther’s tally — unable to convert on timely opportunities to tie the game.

“Power play has to be better,” Keller said. “Quicker puck movement, getting pucks to the net, be a little more simple. I think that’s the key for us, that’s when we’re at our best. Winning the loose pucks, those wall battles in the corner, supporting each other. Just a little bit more simple. We have a lot of talent so it’s just doing the little things right.”

The Red Wings found the 1-1 equalizer at 5:08. Sean Durzi mishandled a Guenther pass at the blue line which created a turnover the other way. Vladimir Tarasenko took off into the offensive before sliding it over to Elmer Soderblom who one-timed it past Karel Vejmelka (who made his 14th consecutive start).

“[Vejmelka] should be tired. There’s nobody in the league that did that — 14 starts in a row. He should be tired. You think [Sergachev] is not tired? You think [Dylan] Larkin is not tired on the other side?” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “It’s the NHL. All the players in that league are at this point a little bit banged up, a little bit tired or a little bit worn down. But you need to battle through and find a way.”

Despite holding Detroit to three shots on goal in the middle frame, Utah still found itself behind heading into the third period. A failed breakout by the Club turned the puck over once again and led to Marco Kasper’s tally in front, which bounced off Lawson Crouse and in to make it 2-1.

Austin Watson extended the gap for Detroit in the final stanza. Kevin Stenlund won the O-zone draw but Utah lost possession and could not create a rush up ice. Instead, Simon Edvinsson stopped the puck at the point and lofted it on net. Watson got a stick on the shot and tipped it in for the 3-1 scoreline at 9:51.

An empty-net goal from Alex DeBrincat at 17:06 and a snapshot from Tyler Motte at 18:32 brought the contest to its final 5-1 standing.

Utah’s playoff aspirations got further out of reach on Monday. The Club remains six points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and is now three points behind the Vancouver Canucks who beat the New Jersey Devils in a shootout. The St. Louis Blues’ recent 12-2-2 record has them currently locked into the last playoff position with 81 points.

Up next is a three-game road trip for Utah during which it will face the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks.

“There’s never going to be any quit in this room ever. We’re going to fight all the way until the end. We’re going to try to win every single game from here on out,” Keller said. “You never know what can happen. We’re going to stay motivated.”