At this point in the season, if you’re eliminated from the playoffs, you’re left without your main reason for playing: the Stanley Cup.
After all, if the ultimate motivation is to become a champion, it’s hard not to start shifting focus to next season once that goal is off the table.
But for the Utah Hockey Club, it doesn’t matter that the Stanley Cup is out of reach—something the team made clear with a 5–3 win over the Dallas Stars playing in front of its home crowd.
Instead, Utah is practicing what it’s preaching, using the end of the season to build momentum.
Case in point: Utah’s perfect power play performance.
🚨 Schmaltzy buries it! 5-3, Utah!
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) April 13, 2025
Power play has been unreal tonight! pic.twitter.com/Q3OJfudeQ9
Going 4-for-4 on the power play is impressive for any NHL team. But what makes this feat especially significant for Utah is that it continues to build on the recent success of its power play, a sharp contrast to a 10-game stretch in which Utah ranked in the bottom three league-wide in power play goals.
Over its last four games, Utah has gone 9-for-15 on the power play, leading to three wins—two of which came against Central Division playoff teams, Dallas and Winnipeg.
The only loss in that stretch? A 4–3 shootout defeat to the Nashville Predators on Fan Appreciation Night, which also happened to be the only game in that span where Utah failed to score a power play goal, going 0-for-2.
Utah Hockey Club's Home Finale Features Award Ceremony, Fan Appreciation... And A Shootout Loss The Delta Center is going to look mighty empty real soon.
While that wasn’t the sole reason for the loss—in fact, Utah’s typically strong penalty kill struggled, allowing two goals on three Nashville power plays—it was a rare off night for a team that's confident in its penalty kill.
For Utah to follow up that performance with a perfect power play outing shows a team focused on growth, momentum and building habits, not flukes.
Playing the right way ...
