WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (32-27-11) readies itself for a Monday night matchup against the Detroit Red Wings (32-31-6) at Delta Center. Tonight’s game will mark Detroit’s first trip to Delta Center and the final meeting of the year between the two clubs. With 12 games left in the regular season including tonight, Utah is currently four points behind the St. Louis Blues for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
ONE-TIMERS
- Seven players on Utah’s roster have either tied or set new career highs in goals (Cooley, Guenther, Sergachev, Kesselring, McBain, Stenlund, Doan).
- Alexander Kerfoot now has recorded at least 10 goals in four straight seasons.
- Utah has now scored at least five goals in back-to-back games for the third time this season.
- Jack McBain leads the team with seven fighting majors.
- Dylan Guenther leads the team with 11 power-play goals.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
After back-to-back losses, Detroit is desperate to remain in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. The Red Wings are five points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the eighth and final playoff position in the East, and there are three teams ahead of Detroit in line for the last slot.
The goal scoring that propelled Detroit to seven straight wins from Jan. 23 to Feb. 4 has dried up, the Red Wings are averaging just 2.45 goals per game over their last 11 games (figure includes an outlier on Mar. 12 when Detroit scored seven against the Buffalo Sabres).
Four former first-round picks taken in consecutive years from 2019 to 2022 make a nightly impact for the Red Wings: Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, and Marco Kasper. Detroit is hoping this youthful uprising will end an eight-year playoff drought.
STANDINGS UPDATE
WC1: Minnesota Wild - 83 points
WC2: St. Louis Blues - 77 points
—
- Vancouver Canucks - 76 points
- Calgary Flames - 75 points
- Utah Hockey Club - 73 points
- Anaheim Ducks - 68 points
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #92 LOGAN COOLEY - Logan Cooley notched his first multi-goal effort of the season with two tallies against Tampa Bay on Saturday night. The performance marked the second multi-goal outing of Cooley’s young career; he recorded a hat trick against the Nashville Predators in March of last season. Cooley now has goals in back-to-back games and four markers over the last four contests.
DETROIT: #23 LUCAS RAYMOND - Raymond had one of Detroit’s three goals on Saturday in a 6-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, and he now has two goals in his last three games. Raymond leads the team with 70 points (24G, 46A) on the season.
LAST MEETING
Utah defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Mar. 6 at Little Caesars Arena. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka helped keep Utah in the game throughout the night with 38 saves on 40 Red Wings shots, marking the second most saves in a game for Vejmelka this season.
Dylan Guenther led off the scoring just 2:08 into the first frame, but Detroit eventually took the lead with first-period tallies from Dylan Larkin and Jonatan Berggren. Nick Schmaltz tied the game at 2-2 on the power play in the second frame following a perfect saucer pass from Barrett Hayton.
Later in the third, Kevin Stenlund provided the game-winner and Lawson Crouse scored on a setup from Jack McBain.
LOOK BACK
Utah survived a back-and-forth affair against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 6-4 win on Saturday afternoon at Delta Center. Josh Doan and Logan Cooley led off the scoring with goals to put Utah ahead 2-0 in the first period, but Brayden Point answered with a power-play goal late in the opening period, and Anthony Cirelli tapped in a Brandon Hagel setup to level the score at 2-2 in the second period.
36 seconds after Cirelli tied things, Alexander Kerfoot angled a Kevin Stenlund pass into the net to return the lead to Utah’s hands. Later in the second, Logan Cooley tipped in his second goal of the contest to wrestle the lead back for Utah again 30 seconds after Jake Guentzel tied the game at 3-3.
Utah’s Nick Schmaltz and Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point traded goals again in the third period, and Kerfoot scored his second of the game into an empty net to seal the win.
CAREER HIGHS
Logan Cooley established a new career high with 21 goals on the season after he netted two against Tampa Bay on Saturday. The second-year pro posted 20 a year ago with the Arizona Coyotes, and he is on pace for 25 this season. His 53 points (21G, 32A) with Utah this season have already surpassed his previous high of 44 (20G, 24A) he established last campaign with Arizona.
With two assists last night, Nick Schmaltz reached the 40 mark in a season for the first time in his career, setting a new career high in helpers. His 57 points (17G, 40A) this season are four shy of the 61 (22G, 39A) he recorded last season with the Arizona Coyotes.
HOME GAMES
Utah is now 7-1-1 in its last nine home games and has won three straight in downtown Salt Lake City. Delta Center has provided memorable atmospheres all season, but the team is only recently turning that atmosphere into an advantage. In the first 21 home games of the year, Utah was just 6-11-4. In Utah’s last 14 home games, the team is 9-2-3 and now has a winning record at home for the season at 15-13-7.
The six goals scored by Utah on Saturday against Tampa Bay were the most the Mountain Blue have scored in a home game this season.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah hits the road again on Thursday, Mar. 27 with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The next night on Mar. 28, Utah will continue its trip through the Sunshine State against the Florida Panthers.
