SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – The playoff hopes of the Utah Hockey Club are growing dimmer after a 5-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings Monday night at the Delta Center.
After Dylan Guenther scored his team-leading 26th goal of the season for his 100th career point, Detroit rattled off five unanswered goals to secure the victory.
With the loss, Utah remains six points behind St. Louis for the final wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“For the most part, it was it was a good effort defensively,” said Utah defenseman Ian Cole. “We clogged the middle, took away chances, blocked shots when you had to. But ultimately, goals went in the net. That’s kind of the determining factor of whether you win or lose.”
Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings. Detroit scored three of its five goals in the third period despite being limited to a total of 14 shots on goal.
Elmer Soderblom and Marco Kasper also scored for the Red Wings (33-31-6), who had lost eight of 10 and ended a six-game road losing streak. Petr Mrazek, who left at 1:48 of the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return, made one save. Alex Lyon stopped 16 of 17 shots in relief.
The Red Wings pulled within three points of the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Utah (32-28-11), which had won two in a row and three of four, managed just one goal on offense, while Karel Vejmelka allowed four goals on 13 shots.
“We had a good start,” said Utah captain Clayton Keller. “We had a lot of possessions, some shots early, but I don’t think we did a good enough job of getting to the inside, hitting those rebounds … power plays got to be better. We had a good start there, but we have to find a way to get another one there. So that’s definitely frustrating as well.”
Utah remained six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card in the West.
Guenther gave Utah a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 3:46 of the first period, scoring on a one-timer past Lyon off a pass from Clayton Keller.
Soderblom tied it 1-1 at 5:08 on a feed from Vladimir Tarasenko.
Kasper gave Detroit a 2-1 at 1:34 of the second period after the puck went off his stick and bounced off Utah forward Lawson Crouse for the goal.
“I think we got a little bit unlucky on our goal against,” said Utah head coach Andrè Tourigny. “The puck was bouncing a lot tonight. It was tough to execute. I would have loved to simplify a little bit, go more at the net, and (be a little) bit more dirty. At the end of the day we got unlucky.”
Austin Watson extended it to 3-1 at 9:51 of the third period, deflecting a shot by Simon Edvinsson. It was Watson’s first goal since Dec. 31, 2023, with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
DeBrincat made it 4-1 at 17:06 with an empty-net goal at 17:06, and Tyler Motte scored at 18:32 for the 5-1 final.
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