WHEN: 5:30 p.m. MT
WHERE: Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (11-11-4) polishes off the second game of a back-to-back tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers (12-11-4) at Wells Fargo Center. Utah is fresh off a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres last night and is seeking its first back-to-back wins since the first three games of the season. Philadelphia has played well in a crowded Metropolitan Division lately and has earned points in six of its last seven games.
ONE-TIMERS
- Nick Schmaltz has four goals in his last three games.
- Utah has picked up points in four of its last five games.
- Utah Head Coach Andre Tourigny picked up his 100th NHL coaching win last night against Buffalo.
- Jack McBain leads all Utah skaters with nine even-strength goals and is tied for 22nd in the NHL.
- Five different skaters found the back of the net for Utah on Saturday against Buffalo.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
After points in five straight contests, the Flyers have dropped each of their last two games in close fashion, including a 4-3 overtime loss against the Boston Bruins last night. Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim have emerged as two elite players in the Eastern Conference, and both have been named to Team Canada’s 4 Nations Faceoff squad. Konecny leads the team with 31 points (13G, 18A) and is on pace for a career year in NHL season number nine. Sanheim is in his eighth NHL campaign and leads all Philadelphia defensemen with 17 points (5G, 12A).
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #8 NICK SCHMALTZ - Schmaltz will continue to be Utah’s player to watch until further notice. The forward has four goals in his last three games after searching for his first tally of the season for 23 games. Schmaltz is known to heat up in a hurry and has scored goals in three straight games 11 times in his nine-year NHL career. His most potent stretch came from Mar. 3, 2022 to Mar. 8, 2022 when he bagged five goals in three games.
PHILADELPHIA: #39 MATVEI MICHKOV - 19-year-old Russian sensation Matvei Michkov leads all NHL rookies with 24 points (11G, 13A), including two goals last night against the Boston Bruins. The former first-round pick also has seven points (3G, 4A) across his last three games and ranks second on his team in scoring.
LOOK BACK
Utah poured in five goals last night against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center in a 5-2 victory to pull back to .500. Trailing 1-0 after the first, Michael Kesselring, Mikhail Sergachev, and Nick Schmaltz all scored in the second period to flip the script. Jack McBain and Kevin Stenlund added goals in the third period to cement the win, and goaltender Karel Vejmelka picked up his fourth win of the season with 23 saves on 25 Buffalo shots.
GORDIE HOWE HAT TRICK
Michael Kesselring recorded the Utah Hockey Club’s first-ever Gordie Howe hat trick last night against Buffalo. The feat (when a player scores a goal, an assist, and records a fight in the same game), is named for four-time Stanley Cup Champion Gordie Howe, although Howe only accomplished the feat twice in 1,767 NHL games. On Saturday, Kesselring scored Utah’s first goal in the second period, fought Buffalo’s Beck Malenstyn, and then assisted on Nick Schmaltz’s tally. Kesselring is also the first NHL player to accomplish the feat in a single period so far this season, and he did so in his 100th NHL game.
