Since a 4-2-0 start to their inaugural season, it’s been a rough stretch for the Utah Hockey Club. Last night was a big victory to end their three-game losing streak. They beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1, despite surrendering a historic, 600th career goal to Sidney Crosby. Now as Utah is set to play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, they come in 4-5-1 in their last ten games. Currently, they are 8-9-3 overall good for fifth place in the Central Division. They’ve been shutout in five of the nine regulation losses. That’s certainly not the expectation for a team that has 12 former first-round picks in the lineup. So, what has gone wrong for Utah?
Offensive Droughts
Goals have been hard to come by for Utah. The team is ranked 21st in goals-for-per-game at 2.75. The reason goals aren’t being scored could be a lack of shots on goal. Despite ranking 16th with a league average 10.4 shooting percentage, Utah has only registered 26 shots per game, 29th in the league. Once Utah figures out how to create more shots, the puck should eventually find the back of the net.
Utah needs more from the team’s top forwards. While Nick Schmaltz has 15 assists in 20 games, he hasn’t scored a goal. With an average ice-time of 18:19 that includes being on the top power play unit, the right winger should be expected to score. Lawson Crouse has had much less production than Schmaltz. The big winger only has four points so far this season after having 42 last season. He also finished second on the team with 23 goals last season.
Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton each haven’t scored since the October 30 win against the Calgary Flames. Through the first three games of the season, Dylan Guenther scored five goals. Despite his two goals last night, he only had two in the previous 16 games. That’s a long list for Utah as the team expects more from its top players. The players know this, but it doesn’t change how little they’ve hit the twine. The effort isn’t what’s wrong, but Utah must be concerned with the team’s current offensive droughts.
Defensive Mistakes
Although the offensive side of the game is important, defence is too. Utah has been scoring the first and even the second goal, but defensive play has cost leads. In the game against the Capitals, Jack McBain scored in the first three minutes, then Utah gave up three in a 3:49 span. Just this month, Utah lost two games to the Vegas Golden Knights after scoring the first two goals in each game. A stretch that needs evaluation to improve team defence.
Utah’s current defensive stats are nothing to be desired. Utah is ranked 22th with an average 3.20 goals-against-per-game. 13 of Utah’s skaters on the roster have a negative plus/minus rating. That includes the top line of Keller, Nick Bjugstad, and Schmaltz, plus top defenceman, Mikhail Sergachev. The two biggest reasons have been turnovers and discipline. Utah hasn’t controlled the puck well in their own zone and it’s leading to goals against. Most recently, two turnovers ended up in Utah’s net against the Capitals. They also average the most penalty minutes in the league. It will be difficult for Utah to compete if the mistakes continues.
Special Teams
Special teams has been a deciding factor for Utah, but not in a good way. The offensive droughts have negatively impacted the team’s power play, which is ranked 22th with a 16.9% conversion rate. An ineffective power-play changes the course of a game by shifting the momentum to the defending team. It also increases the chance of giving up a shorthanded goal. If Utah gets their scoring touch back, it could positively impact the power-play.
Not only has the power-play been slumping, Utah’s penalty-kill is also. The PK is at 76%, or 23th in the league. Penalties can change the flow of the game and taking too many doesn’t allow Utah to see the offensive zone. They also explain the team’s current plus/minus ratings. Utah needs to clean up D-zone play and stay disciplined to avoid being punished by opposing power plays.
Conclusion for What Has Gone Wrong for the Utah Hockey Club
Yes, there are a lot of numbers here, but they show how every team is doing. Utah has struggled on both sides of the ice and it’s showing on the scoresheet. The team needs to limit turnovers and stay out of the penalty box. By doing so, the offence, defence, and special teams should improve over time. Right now, that’s what has gone wrong for Utah.
Main Photo Credit: Rob Gray – Imagn Images
