WHEN: 11:00 a.m. MT
WHERE: KeyBank Center - Buffalo, New York
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (10-11-4) heads east to face the Buffalo Sabres (11-12-3) at KeyBank Center Saturday afternoon. Utah is currently six points out of a Wild Card position in the Western Conference while Buffalo is two points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Having last played on Monday in a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, Utah has had four days in between games- the longest stretch of rest so far this season.
ONE-TIMERS
- Captain Clayton Keller leads the team with 22 points (7G, 15A).
- Utah ranks seventh in the NHL with a 1.20 five-on-five goals-for/goals-against ratio.
- Nick Schmaltz has three goals in his last two games.
- Goaltender Karel Vejmelka has allowed over three goals only twice in 11 starts.
- Utah Head Coach Andre Tourigny is one win away from reaching 100 NHL coaching wins.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Sabres look to snap a five-game losing streak tonight after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. Entering this season, the Sabres were one of just two teams (Montreal) with a younger opening night roster than the Utah Hockey Club. On Thursday against Winnipeg, nine players in Buffalo’s lineup were drafted by the organization. The Sabres are capable of heating up in a hurry as Buffalo has three separate win streaks of three wins this season.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #8 NICK SCHMALTZ - Schmaltz, 28, has three goals in his last two games, including Utah’s only tally against Dallas on Monday. The pride of Madison, Wisconsin is tied for third on the team with 20 points (3G, 17A) and leads the club in assists. Schmaltz has hit the 20-goal plateau in each of his last three seasons.
BUFFALO: 72 TAGE THOMPSON - Thompson, 26, leads Buffalo with 14 goals on the season. Originally acquired via trade from the St. Louis Blues, Thompson has eclipsed the 30-goal mark twice in his career, including a 47-goal season in 2022-23. The Phoenix, Arizona native lit the lamp 29 times last season and is on pace for 51 this season.
LOOK BACK
Utah’s rally came up just short against the Dallas Stars on Monday night at Delta Center in a 2-1 loss. Nick Schmaltz scored for Utah in the third period to cut the Stars’ lead in half, but second period scores from Evgenii Dadonov and Jamie Benn proved too much for Utah when combined with Dallas goaltender Casey DeSmith’s 34 saves. Karel Vejmelka made the start for Utah in net and stopped 19 of 21 Dallas shots.
MÄÄTTÄ AND VÄLIMÄKI NAMED TO TEAM FINLAND
On Wednesday it was announced that Utah Hockey Club defensemen Olli Määttä and Juuso Välimäki were named to Team Finland’s 4 Nations Faceoff roster. Määttä has two assists in 15 games with Utah this season after arriving via trade from the Detroit Red Wings. Välimäki has one assist in 19 games with Utah so far. Määttä represented Finland in the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi where he captured a bronze medal for his country. Both have represented Finland at various IIHF World Junior Championship tournaments.
CLOSE CALLS
The Utah Hockey Club has played in some close finishes as of late with five of the team’s last seven games decided by just one goal. Each of Utah’s last four losses have all been by just one tally. Utah is 4-4-4 in games decided by one goal and is tied for the fifth-most games played decided by one score.
KAREL VEJMELKA
Netminder Karel Vejmelka has had a stellar start to the campaign in between the pipes. So far this season, Vejmelka ranks fourth in goals-against average (2.38) amongst goaltenders who have played as many games as he has (13) and sixth in save percentage (.917). His goals-saved-above-expected per 60 metric (average number of goals he prevents beyond what is normally expected of an NHL goaltender in 60 minutes of action) of 0.52 is 10th amongst all NHL goaltenders according to Sportlogic.
LOOK AHEAD
The Utah Hockey Club turns around and plays the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. MT in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.
