Utah HC: Streaky Play Will Hinder Team’s Success Come Playoff Time – The Hockey Writers Utah Hockey Club Latest News, Analysis & More
The Utah Hockey Club (17-15-7) is 39 games into its inaugural NHL season and sits four points out of a wild card spot. At the same point last season, the Arizona Coyotes held a 20-17-2 record. While Utah is approaching the second half of its season soon, if the team wants to continue to play through mid-April 2025, head coach André Tourigny’s squad must find ways to play consistent 60 minutes night-in and night-out. Therefore, let’s take a look at the factors contributing to Utah’s streaky play.
Parallels Between Utah and Arizona’s Seasons
The 2023-24 Coyotes experienced a rollercoaster season: whether it was a 14-game losing streak, a consecutive sweep of the past five Stanley Cup-winning teams, or dealing with relocation rumors (which eventually came true), Arizona finished seventh place in the Central Division with a 36-41-6 record. Here’s a look at where both teams have similar metrics:
- Power-play percentage
- Longest winning streak
- 2023-24 Arizona Coyotes: Five games
- 2024-25 Utah Hockey Club: Four games
- Game-winning streaks
- 2023-24 Arizona Coyotes: 10 streaks (82-game season)
- 2024-25 Utah Hockey Club: Three streaks (through 39 games)
- Game-losing streaks
- 2023-24 Arizona Coyotes: 10 streaks (82-game season)
- 2024-25 Utah Hockey Club: Five streaks (through 39 games)
- Average goal margin in regulation losses
- 2023-24 Arizona Coyotes: 2.46 goals (41-game pace)
- 2024-25 Utah Hockey Club: 2.53 goals (15-game pace)
- Wins
- 2023-24 Arizona Coyotes: 36 wins (82-game season)
- 2024-25 Utah Hockey Club: 35.7 wins (82-game pace)
As you can see, there are several connections from last season to this season. Utah’s special teams, which rank in the middle-of-the-pack, have slightly improved from last season, whereas Arizona posted the 25th-best penalty-killing percentage.
Injuries Among Factors Leading to Inconsistent Play
It’s no secret the injury bug has hurt Utah’s defensive core this season. Blue liners Sean Durzi, John Marino, Robert Bortuzzo, and Maveric Lamoureux are all on injured reserve. Furthermore, all these players are right-handed, forcing defensemen Olli Määttä and Vladislav Kolyachonok to play on the right side as left-handed players. Playing on their off side makes it difficult to create shooting lanes from the point and get pucks out on their backhand under pressure.
On Jan. 5, Utah’s General Manager Bill Armstrong claimed defenseman Nick DeSimone off of waivers from the New Jersey Devils. DeSimone, the 30-year-old who appeared in 11 games this season, joins defenseman Michael Kesselring as the only two active right-handed defensemen.
While Utah acquired Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the offseason, Durzi’s presence has been missed. The 26-year-old posted two assists in four games before needing surgery on his right shoulder in late October. The 6-foot, 195-pounder set career highs in assists (32) and points (41) in Coyotes’ last season. Although Sergachev has been the quarterback on Utah’s top power-play unit all season, Durzi was an excellent second-unit offensive defenseman.
Lamoureux and Bortuzzo were two recent additions to the injured reserve list. Therefore, fans may wonder when Durzi and Marino could return to the lineup this season. Durzi’s estimated return was four to six months in late October. However, the Canadian was seen on the ice on Jan. 6, working on some individual drills and didn’t participate in the team’s practice.
“It’s a few weeks now he has skated. But need to hold him back a little bit,” Tourigny said about Durzi’s progression through his injury recovery.
Marino is closer to returning than Durzi. The 27-year-old was acquired from the New Jersey Devils at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and had lower-back surgery in October. The 6-foot-1, 183-pounder notched his third 24-point-plus campaign last season.
While both players are progressing towards a potential return this season, Armstrong provided estimated returns for both:
The last time GM Bill Armstrong updated me (last week), these were the timelines for return:
— John Marino: Feb 1.
— Sean Durzi: End of season
— Connor Ingram: Still no timeline https://t.co/i1v0WsSUvB— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) December 24, 2024
Another contributing factor to Utah’s unpredictable play this season is the team’s third line of forwards Matias Maccelli, Nick Bjugstad, and Lawson Crouse. All three are on a trajectory toward having career-down campaigns. Therefore, Tourigny has broken up the trio, bringing forward Liam O’Brien back into the lineup on the third line. Here’s a look at Utah’s forward lines the past two games:
Clayton Keller — Barrett Hayton — Nick Schmaltz
Jack McBain — Logan Cooley — Dylan Guenther
Liam O’Brien — Nick Bjugstad — Lawson Crouse
Michael Carcone/Matias Maccelli — Kevin Stenlund — Alex Kerfoot
O’Brien’s return to the lineup sparked the newly-created third line’s two-goal performance against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 2 as Crouse potted his first two goals since Nov. 29 in the team’s 5-3 win that night. The 6-foot-1, 213-pounder has dressed in Utah’s last three games, marking his first game since Oct. 28.
“We’re all big bodies,” O’Brien said of the line’s 637-pound combined weight. “We like to get in on the forecheck. We’ve been playing a simple game, but it’s been effective. They’ve played really well, and I am happy to see them have some success.”
Related: Analyzing the Utah HC’s Underperforming Third Line
The final pillar of the team’s struggles is finding a goalie who can hold the reigns as the starter for a full season. Last season saw the rise of goalie Connor Ingram (whose six shutouts tied for the league best) whose campaign capped off with being named the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy recipient. This season, the 27-year-old holds a 3.61 goals against average (GAA), a .871 save percentage (SV%) and a league-worst minus-10.7 goals saved above expected (GSAx.)
On the other hand, goalie Karel Vejmelka looks like he has earned the starting role between the pipes. The Czechia netminder boasts a 2.45 GAA, a .914 SV% and a plus-12 GSAx (seventh-best in the NHL). With the constant change on Utah’s defensive core, Vejmelka has held this team together while the team awaits Durzi, Marino, and Ingram to return.
Utah will look to put together a consistent effort with 43 games remaining in its regular season. It all starts with a game on Jan. 8 against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.
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