Utah Hockey Club wins its biggest game of the season, improves playoff odds
With a 3-1 win on Sunday, the Utah Hockey Club has officially swept its season series with the Vancouver Canucks — and there’s probably not a more important team to do that against.
While some UHC fans felt the officials were a tougher opponent than the Canucks, the visiting team pushed through that adversity and came out better for it.
“They tried to push us around in the first period,” said head coach André Tourigny. “We called their bluff, we stayed composed and we played really well the rest of the game.”
A few key moments defined this one: A game-tying goal from Kevin Stenlund (giving the fourth-liner three points in his last two games and increasing his already broken career high); a drought-breaking game-winner from Logan Cooley; a full four-minute penalty kill late in the game.
It was a character win for Utah — the type that wins playoff games.
Utah Hockey for dummies
If there’s one team Utah needs to beat, it’s Vancouver. The two teams, along with primarily the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames, are in tight competition for the final wild card playoff spot in the NHL’s Western Conference.
Beating the Canucks not only gave Utah two points, but it also ensured that Vancouver stayed stagnant in the standings.
“Against a team that we’re, obviously, fighting with for the playoff spot ... It doesn’t get much bigger than that,” said Utah HC alternate captain Alexander Kerfoot after the game.
The standings now have UHC two points out of the playoffs. The Canucks still hold the last spot with the Blues and Flames also on their tail.
Steve Hatze Petros, who is in charge of creating NHL teams’ schedules every season, deserves a lot of credit for his hand in this playoff race.
He’s created must-watch hockey by having each of these four teams play each other in the final month of the regular season, with the exception of the Blues and the Flames going head-to-head.
Utah Hockey for casual fans
Most players, especially young ones, are comfortable going half a dozen games without scoring — but not Cooley. He’s only 20 years old, but the team counts on him to be a top contributor.
Prior to Sunday, Cooley was on the longest point drought of his NHL career: six games. Again, most players wouldn’t bat an eye if they went six games without scoring, but the expectations of Cooley are such that it had been weighing him down.
That all ended on Sunday as he scored the eventual game-winning goal.
LOGAN COOLEY SMILES ARE BACK 😁 pic.twitter.com/4cCSnQamv3
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) March 17, 2025
“It truly does feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders now,” he said after the game. “I can just play and get back to doing what makes me successful and not thinking too much.”
In an attempt to spark both Cooley and a few other top-six forwards, the coaching staff switched him to the second line left-winger rather than the first line center.
Perhaps he needed a fresh start. Maybe it had to do with the decreased responsibility. Whatever the reason was, it worked.
“You play every other day,” Cooley said. “You can’t hold on to games where you’re not your best. Even if you have good games, you’ve got to move on quick.”
It wasn’t just the goal though. He played a good two-way game all night and was constantly in the mix offensively. He was even a few inches away from a primary assist on a 2-on-1, though Dylan Guenther couldn’t quite chip it high enough to beat the outstretched pad of Vancouver goaltender Kevin Lankinen.
“He was really good,” Tourigny said of Cooley. “When you talk about playing in a game with no time, no space, he created space. He had a lot of physicality. He battled hard.”
Tourigny said he’d spoken to Cooley about being patient, but the youngster wanted nothing to do with his lecture.
“When you talk to him about being patient, he looks (at) you like you look at your grandfather when he tells you stories about ‘in the old days,’” Tourigny said. “He has no time for that. He wants right here, right now. He wants to make a difference.”
Tourigny also mentioned that Cooley reminds him of Clayton Keller four years ago when he’d have similar conversations with him. That mindset has worked out well for Keller, and it should do the same for Cooley.
Utah Hockey for nerds
In a game Utah gave up a power play goal, it doesn’t seem right to talk about how dominant its penalty kill was — but it really was a game-defining aspect.
When Keller got a double minor for high-sticking with less than 10 minutes left in a one-goal game, a perfect penalty kill was a must for Utah, and when you’re shorthanded for four minutes, you can’t just throw your four best killers over the boards and leave them there.
It’s a team effort in which a lot of hands have to be on the wheel.
How is this a double minor penalty against Keller???? How???? pic.twitter.com/08Nk6iksmI
— Cap’n Cook🦣 (@JazzePinkman) March 17, 2025
The team effort was perfect in that situation. Not only did the group not allow a goal, but it significantly limited the amount of time the Canucks were able to spend in the offensive zone.
Part of that success comes from a unique aspect of Utah HC’s penalty kill. Rather than icing the puck immediately upon recovering it, they tend to survey their options first.
If they have time to skate a few strides before firing it down, they will. If there’s an open defenseman behind the puck carrier, he’ll often drop it back to create even more space.
That playing style isn’t necessarily new or groundbreaking, but it’s not common. It requires both high hockey IQ and incredible confidence. When you have two former Harvard students on your penalty kill unit, IQ is certainly present.
With a success rate of 80.5%, Utah’s penalty kill is now the 13th-best in the NHL this season.
What’s next?
Utah HC concludes its road trip with a voyage to Edmonton on Tuesday.
The Oilers won both previous contests against the NHL’s newest franchise, but they’ve struggled since returning from the 4 Nations break.
They’re also struggling with injuries at the moment, with Mattias Ekholm, Zach Hyman and John Klingberg on the IR, in addition to a few long-term guys.
Utah has a realistic opportunity to walk away with a win against a team that’s down on its luck. The game starts at 7 p.m. MDT and will be televised exclusively on ESPN.
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