Dylan Guenther said he could breathe fine enough so, of course, he laced up for the game.
The Utah Hockey Club winger — despite a broken nose, nine stitches and a new bubble cage attached to his helmet — logged the second-most ice time of all forwards with 17:56, had two shots and one hit in his team’s 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Thursday at Delta Center.
With seven games remaining in the regular season, there was never really a question if Guenther was going to play.
“I mean, [your nose] is a long way from your leg. It doesn’t really affect you,” Guenther said.
The 21-year-old took a puck to the face in the first period of Tuesday’s matchup against the Calgary Flames and went straight to the locker room, leaving a puddle of blood behind him on the ice. He returned around 10 minutes later with quick patchwork on his nose where the frozen rubber had made impact.
At Thursday’s morning skate, Guenther debuted his bubbled cage to protect the broken nose. It was his first time wearing the more protective, full-face plastic shield.
Guenther’s breathing was around 70% efficiency following the injury. It was a hard first night of sleep, he said, but he was just happy it was not his teeth.
“It’s a pretty clean break so it shouldn’t be too bad. The bone is like super skinny so it’s, like, in half but it’s in line,” Guenther said. “My eye looks like it got stung by a bee.”
Ice was consistently applied to Guenther’s nose before the Kings’ game to keep the swelling down.
And then, he was off.
Guenther even scored in the opening two minutes on Thursday, but it was overturned for being offside. It would’ve given Utah a 1-0 lead at 1:25.
“It sucks, to be honest. It has happened a few times and especially early. Sometimes when you get one early it feels like the floodgates kind of open,” Guenther said. “Just keep trying to do the same thing. Couple inches off from a goal so that means you’re doing something right.”
There are no excuses for NHL players at this time in the season — especially with a chance at the playoffs still mathematically possible. By contrast, the Utah Jazz’s Walker Kessler is missing Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a nasal fracture.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club forward Josh Doan (91) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Los Angeles Kings, NHL pre-season hockey in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.
“There’s not many guys in any locker room in the NHL at this point in the year that don’t have something wrong,” head coach André Tourigny said. “They go through a lot and demand a lot from their bodies — it’s 82 games, it’s the way it is. I have a ton of respect for all of them who battle through and they’re managing their life 24/7 to make sure they’re capable of keep playing at an elite level. Gunner and others — a ton of respect.”
Guenther lives with forward Jack McBain — who scored on the power play in the third period with 20 seconds left in the game — but said his roommate has not been much help regarding his injury.
“He’s just chirping me,” Guenther said. “Saying I actually look like I play hockey now. That’s about it.”
After Guenther’s goal was overturned, Adrian Kempe gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 6:56 of the first period after he was pushed into the Utah net by Logan Cooley. The forward knocked Andrei Kuzmenko’s initial shot past Karel Vejmelka while sliding into him. The goal stood because the referee determined it was Cooley who caused the collision that led to the puck crossing the line.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) brings the puck down the ice during the third period of the game at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.
The Club knotted things with a tally from Lawson Crouse. The heavy and unforgiving third line pushed into the offensive zone led by McBain. Josh Doan then got the puck behind the net and chipped it out to Crouse who roofed it from a sharp angle to make it 1-1 at 12:21. McBain and Doan picked up their respective 11th assists of the season on Crouse’s 11th goal of the season.
“We’re working hard. We’re trying to do all the little things right,” Crouse said of his line. “We’re getting chances. Obviously, it was nice to get one tonight.”
Two quick goals from the Kings — just 44 seconds apart in the final frame — put them ahead 3-1. A turnover by John Marino landed the puck on Kevin Fiala’s stick in the slot and he snapped it in at 4:06. Trevor Moore followed it up with a backhander off a breakaway at 4:50. A late empty-netter from Drew Doughty and ensuing power-play goal from McBain brought the contest to its final 4-2 standing.
“I honestly thought we played pretty well,” Guenther said. “We just need to find a way to score more goals.”
