It has only been seven weeks since the Utah Hockey Club’s overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens, but it may as well be a full season with how much has changed for both teams since then.
That game began Utah’s seven-game winning streak on the road. They came within a point of a playoff spot before regressing back to the mean after the Christmas break. That game was also a turning point for the Canadiens, who, at the time, had the third-worst record in the NHL. Since then, they’re 13-7-1 and two points out of the playoffs.
Utah head coach André Tourigny said after practice on Monday that the game plan will be the same this time around as it was in November, but he expects Montreal to be better at everything that they were seven weeks ago.
“It’s the same team — They’re just better at what they do,” Tourigny said.
Utah HC’s key to victory
The Canadiens have been to overtime in each of their last four games — and three of those opponents have been to the Stanley Cup Final with their current cores. Utah HC hasn’t always gotten to overtime, but they, too, have played lots of close games recently: Their last four games have each been decided by just one goal (not including empty-netters).
Utah didn’t score more than two goals in any of those games. With that fact in mind, a 1-2-1 record actually isn’t that bad — but you can’t expect to win many games if you don’t score more than twice.
They really seem to be missing Dylan Guenther.
The key for Utah this time around is much broader than it has been in previous games: They need someone to step up and fill the hole that Guenther left.
Logan Cooley has had chance after chance since Guenther went down, but his singular assist in that time doesn’t show it. If he can find a way to convert on those chances just a little more often, the team will have a much better chance at winning every night.
Nick Schmaltz also deserves credit for his goals in back-to-back games. He has stepped up when the team has needed him the most.
Others that might be able to fill that role include:
- Clayton Keller (0 goals, 2 assists in last 4 games)
- Barrett Hayton (0 goals, 1 assist in last 4 games)
- Lawson Crouse (0 goals, 1 assist in last 4 games)
- Matias Maccelli (0 points in last 3 games)
- Jack McBain (1 goal, 1 assist in last 15 games)
- Josh Doan (0 points in 2 games since being called up)
If Utah can put three to five goals on the board, they can probably trust Karel Vejmelka to stop enough pucks to get the victory.
Montreal Canadiens players to watch
The “Habs,” as the Canadiens are often called, have loads of young talent that makes this game a must-watch. Here area few.
Patrik Laine
A preseason injury delayed Patrik Laine’s Canadiens debut until Dec. 3, but he has wasted no time getting back into a rhythm. He scored in each of his first two games, had a hat trick in his seventh game and now has nine goals and 11 points in 14 total contests.
Laine, who once scored 44 goals in a season, struggled his last few years, but he seems to have found the right role in Montreal. Watch out for his one-timer on the power play — That’s where he’ll getcha.
Jakub Dobeš
Jakub Dobeš is Montreal’s Jaxson Stauber. Just like Stauber, he came into a tough situation, earned a shutout against a recent Stanley Cup champion in his first game and has been nothing but steady since.
In three games, Dobeš has a perfect 3-0-0 record and a save percentage of .959. He’s also the only goalie who has played more than one game and has a sub-1 goals-against average (0.97).
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has not announced his starting goalie as of the time of writing, but if Dobeš plays, watch him.
Lane Hutson
If you watched the World Juniors this year, you might recognize the Hutson surname. Lane’s brother, Cole, led the tournament in scoring en route to the gold medal. Of course, he was following in the footsteps of his older brother: Lane also won gold with Team USA in last year’s tournament.
Lane Hutson will almost certainly be a finalist for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the NHL’s rookie of the year (as I predicted before the season — not a big deal). He has only played 44 NHL games (two last season and 42 this year), but he’s already one of the league’s most dynamic puck-moving defensemen. He has been rewarded with 32 points in those 42 games.
Hutson has a way of carrying the puck through the neutral zone that makes him successful almost every time — think Quinn Hughes, but flashier. He’s equally as deceptive in the offensive zone, allowing him to create a ton of offense.
Jurjaj Slafkovský
In the 2022 NHL draft, the Canadiens made a bold move, selecting Juraj Slafkovský over Shane Wright, who had been the presumed first-overall pick since he was 15 years old. The New Jersey Devils followed it up with another bold move, taking Šimon Nemec instead of Wright.
The Arizona Coyotes had the third-overall pick, prompting mic’d-up Wright to tell his dad, “Arizona. I’m happy,” assuming that that’s where he would land. But yet again, he was left on the board — this time in favor of Logan Cooley. The Seattle Kraken eventually took Wright fourth overall.
Why does all this matter? It matters because those four players are now tied at the hip the rest of their careers. Any time one of them faces any of the others, the conversations will arise around whether each team should have picked one of the others.
At this point, Cooley has the most goals of everyone in that draft class, while Slafkovský has the most points. But Cooley only leads by three goals and Slafkovský leads by just three points, and the runner-up in both categories is the other player. Either of those leads could shift over the course of Tuesday’s game.
Where to watch Utah Hockey Club vs. Montreal Canadiens
The game starts at 7 p.m. MST on Tuesday. It will be available to Utah residents via Utah 16 and Utah HC+. Tickets start at $10 through Utah’s new ticket programs.