‘We didn’t lose a hockey game — we lost a skills competition': Utah HC falls to Maple Leafs in shootout

As the 25-minute mark of the Utah Hockey Club’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday approached, the Delta Center was quiet.

The Leafs had a 3-0 stranglehold on the home team after a controversial call allowed yet another goal to stand. It was trending toward a blowout.

But you know all those cliché sayings about nothing being over until it’s actually over? Pick your favorite one and put it here — because that was the case on Monday night.

A fight turned the tide, leading UHC to score three goals in a span of four minutes. Those would be the final goals of regulation, and overtime didn’t get it done either.

This one needed a shootout. Utah would ultimately lose 4-3, but a lot can be said about their resilience.

1 of 19

2 of 19

3 of 19

4 of 19

5 of 19

6 of 19

7 of 19

8 of 19

9 of 19

10 of 19

11 of 19

12 of 19

13 of 19

14 of 19

15 of 19

16 of 19

17 of 19

18 of 19

19 of 19

“Kudos to the guys — They were unbelievable," said Utah head coach André Tourigny after the game, mentioning that his players were encouraging each other on the bench to not give up.

Utah Hockey for dummies

It’s been a while since we last talked about shootouts. All the hockey “dummies” who were confused on Monday evening, this one’s for you.

We’ll break this into two sections: an explanation and a debate.

What is a shootout in hockey?

In the playoffs, the tiebreaker is continuous 5-on-5 overtime until someone scores. Most people agree that this is the ideal way to end a hockey game, but logistically it can’t happen in the regular season — those games often go an extra period or two, which would add up over the course of 82 games.

Instead, the NHL uses a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period, which often results in game-winning goals. If nobody scores, it goes to a player-versus-goalie shootout.

The rules of the shootout are simple: It’s a best-of-three. Whichever team scores the most in those three rounds wins. If it’s tied, it goes to single elimination until there’s a winner.

The shooter can move the puck forward, but the second it stops or goes backward, the play is dead. For that reason, you can’t score on a rebound in a shootout.

Do shootouts belong in hockey?

Due to the individualistic nature of the shootout, lots of people don’t like it as a way to end a hockey game. Tourigny is one of those people.

“For me, today, we didn’t lose,” he said after Monday’s game. “We didn’t lose a hockey game — we lost a skills competition.”

That being said, Tourigny acknowledged that there are plenty of reasons for keeping it in the game. Among them are their concise nature and the possibility they create for highlight-reel goals.

Clayton Keller, who scored in the shootout for Utah, said he grew up watching shootouts.

“As a kid, I loved watching the shootouts,” he said. “Anytime there was a shootout, I’d throw it on, no matter if I’d missed the full game. I’d take the moves that I saw and do it the next day in practice.”

Kesselring agreed.

“I think it’s fun to watch a shootout, too,” he said.

Both players agreed, though, that it might be worth lengthening the overtime period, like they did at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“I think it’s fun, but maybe if the overtime was a little bit longer, it would be a little bit better,” Keller said.

“Both of them are kind of skills competitions,” Kesselring said of 3-on-3 overtime and shootouts.

Utah Hockey for casual fans

Fights rarely (if ever) factor into the three stars decisions, but Kesselring deserves recognition for the way he flipped the game on its head.

Immediately after the Maple Leafs' third goal, Kesselring challenged Simon Benoit to a fight. It started with an attempted “Superman punch” by Benoit, followed by a series of blows by Kesselring, before both players fell to the ice.

The crowd, which, due to the 3-0 deficit, had been sullen, was now full of life.

A few minutes later, the crowd was celebrating a Utah goal. And then another. And another.

“Kess got us going there with the fight,” Keller said. “It was awesome for us and really elevated us.”

“I’m playing a little less, so I’ve got to find ways to impact the game,” Kesselring said. “I thought it was a good opportunity. He’s a tough kid and respect to him for fighting. He doesn’t have to when it’s 3-0.”

A lot of people who don’t understand fighting in hockey disagree with it. But fighting truthfully has an important place in the game — it’s not just barbaric entertainment — and Kesselring showed that on Monday.

Utah Hockey for nerds

The first period wasn’t just bad for Utah in terms of the scoreboard. They managed just four shots to Toronto’s 13 and, per Natural Stat Trick, they had just 36% of the expected goals and 40% of the scoring chances.

Things just didn’t go right for them in that span. But, after Kesselring’s fight, things shifted.

Utah commanded those same categories in the second: 15 shots to Toronto’s seven; 70% of the expected goals; 69% of the scoring chances (and three goals to Toronto’s one).

That’s a complicated way of saying that UHC has what it takes to keep up with anyone — even the superstar-studded Maple Leafs. They’re getting more consistent as the season goes on. Whether it’s enough to make the playoffs or not, it’s great for the development of this young group.

What’s next?

Utah hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday — a team to which Utah has lost twice this season. Both losses required extra innings, with one ending in overtime and the other in a shootout.

UHC hopes for better luck this time as they continue their playoff push.

The game starts at 8 p.m. MST and will be streamed on Utah HC+ and Utah 16.