WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL News Radio 1160 AM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (18-16-7) rolls out the Mountain Blue carpet for the New York Islanders (16-18-7) tonight at Delta Center. After earning two points last night in a win against the San Jose Sharks, Utah is now just three points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card position in the Western Conference. Utah and New York last met on Oct. 10 at USB Arena, and Utah claimed a 5-4 win in overtime.
ONE-TIMERS
- Defenseman Nick DeSimone made his Utah Hockey Club debut last night and recorded an assist.
- Utah has earned points in three of its last four games.
- Captain Clayton Keller leads the team with 41 points (14G, 17A) in 40 games.
- Tonight is the start of the second half of Utah’s inaugural season.
- Utah ranks 13th with 2.95 goals against per game this season.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
New York enters tonight with back-to-back wins against the Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights. The Islanders rank seventh out of eight teams in the Metropolitan Division, but are only five points out of the second wild card spot in a crowded Eastern Conference. Special teams have been a struggle for New York this season, and the Islanders have both the worst power play (10.9%) and the worst penalty kill (64.4%) in the NHL entering tonight. Captain Anders Lee is out to an outstanding start this season and leads the squad with 19 goals and 33 points in 41 games.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #17 NICK BJUGSTAD - After providing the primary helper on Barrett Hayton’s game-winning goal last night, Bjugstad now has assists in three of his last four games. The forward has 11 points (4G, 7A) on the season and posted 22 goals with the Arizona Coyotes in 2023-24.
NEW YORK: #14 BO HORVAT - Horvat has three goals in the last two games for the Isles, including a two-goal performance on Jan. 5 against the Boston Bruins. Horvat ranks second on the team with 13 goals and second with 30 points.
LOOK BACK
Utah picked up a 2-1 win in come-from-behind fashion last night against the San Jose Sharks. After allowing a goal from San Jose’ Fabian Zetterlund just 58 seconds into the first period, the club trailed 1-0 until Nick Schmaltz scored his seventh goal of the year to tie the game in the second period. With just over a minute-and-a-half left in regulation, Barrett Hayton broke the 1-1 tie and gave Utah the lead with his eighth tally of the campaign. Utah limited San Jose to just 19 shots and tabbed 26 of its own. Friday’s game also saw the re-addition of Josh Doan and the addition of Nick DeSimone to Utah’s lineup.
LAST MEETING
Utah met the New York Islanders for the first time ever back on Oct. 10, and the game concluded in dramatic fashion. Utah coughed up a 2-1 lead at the start of the third period and eventually fell behind 3-2 before Dylan Guenther tied the game at 3-3 with a power-play goal at the 7:37 mark of the final frame. New York’s Maxim Tsyplakov gave the Islanders a 4-3 edge with just over two minutes remaining in the game, but Utah’s Josh Doan tied the game at 4-4 just 13 seconds later to force overtime. In the extra frame, Guenther scored again to seal a 5-4 win and move Utah to 2-0-0 on the season.
JOSH DOAN
It was announced on Friday that forward Josh Doan was recalled from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners in response to an injury to forward Dylan Guenther. Doan, a second-round pick in the 2021 draft, was recently named as a selection to the AHL All-Star Classic for the second consecutive season. Doan has 21 points (8G, 13A) in 25 games with Tucson this season, and he returned to Utah’s lineup last night against San Jose. Doan started the season with Utah and now has played 10 NHL games this season with one goal and one assist.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah’s seven-game homestand continues on Tuesday, Jan. 14 against the Montreal Canadiens. When these two teams last met in Canada on Nov. 26, Mikhail Sergachev scored the overtime-winner in a 3-2 finish.
