WHEN: 3:00 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 (16-11-5) returns home for a pair of games before the Christmas break. Today, Utah looks to extend its season-long four-game win streak to five with a matinee matchup against the Anaheim Ducks (12-15-4). Utah is on its hottest stretch of the season with points in seven straight games, and the group is now only a game out of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
ONE-TIMERS
- Utah won its last home game 3-2 in overtime against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 18.
- Dylan Guenther has goals in four straight games.
- Logan Cooley has seven assists in his last four games.
- Jack McBain is tied with Guenther for the team lead with nine even-strength goals.
- Utah lost 5-4 in overtime to Anaheim when the teams last met on Oct. 16 in California.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Anaheim has won two of its last three, but those two wins came after a five-game losing skid. The Ducks’ blue line has changed since Utah last saw them on Oct. 16; Anaheim traded away veteran Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues and acquired Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers. Second-year defenseman Jackson LaCombe has been a pleasant surprise for Anaheim, stepping into Fowler’s vacated spot. Lacombe has 11 points (6G, 5A) in 24 games this season and leads all Ducks defensemen in goals. Anaheim’s top line of Ryan Strome, Troy Terry, and Frank Vatrano has begun to pick up their scoring. Terry now has 13 points in his last 12 games while Vatrano has seven goals in that span. The three combined for a goal when they last saw Utah in October. Overall, the Ducks have struggled to score this season and rank second to last in the NHL with 2.42 goals per game.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #11 DYLAN GUENTHER – Guenther now has goals in four straight games after he scored Utah’s only two markers on Friday against Minnesota. He now leads the team in points and goals with 32 and 16 respectively, and he leads the team with seven power-play goals as well. The 21-year-old likes to score in bunches, and his five multi-goal efforts are tied for the second-most in the NHL this season.
ANAHEIM: #19 TROY TERRY – Terry leads Anaheim with 25 points (9G, 16A) and could be on his way to a career year. The Denver, Colorado native has scored at least 20 goals in each of his last three seasons, and he found the back of the net against Utah on Oct. 16.
LAST MEETING
Utah battled back to earn a point for the standings in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks back on Oct. 16 at Honda Center. Defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Clayton Keller each scored in the third period to pull Utah ahead, but Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson scored in overtime to seal a Ducks victory. The game signaled the end of what was an eight-day road trip for Utah on which the team earned five of a possible eight points across four games against the Ducks, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, and New Jersey Devils.
LOOK BACK
Utah extended its winning streak to four and its road winning streak to seven with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Friday. The Wild’s Mats Zuccarello led off the scoring in the middle of the first, but only a minute later, Dylan Guenther knocked in a rebound from a Jack McBain shot and tied the game. Guenther scored the game-winner and his second of the game later in the third on the power play. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka was stellar once again with 28 saves on 29 shots. Utah’s penalty kill came up big with a five-for-five effort against the Wild.
CARDIAC CLUB
After trailing for just one minute against Minnesota on Friday, Utah has now overcome deficits in three straight games to come back and win. Five of Utah’s last eight wins have been come-from-behind victories. Utah erased a two-goal deficit to come back and win for the first time on Wednesday against Vancouver when the team scored two goals in the third period, and Mikhail Sergachev provided the game-winner in overtime. Utah has seven total comeback wins this season, and five of those have been third-period comebacks. The five third-period comebacks is tied for the second-most in the NHL.
POWER PLAY
Utah’s power play has provided timely goals over the last several weeks, and the specialty unit has now connected in six straight games, going 8-for-20 (40.0%) in that span. The power play for Utah sits at 22.0% for the season and ranks 14th in the NHL. The man-advantage has also come through in big moments, and during the current run of six straight games with a power-play goal, five of the eight strikes in that span have come in the third period. Dylan Guenther leads the team with seven power-play goals and 15 power-play points (7G, 8A). The former first-round pick has factored into 15 of Utah’s 20 total power-play goals this season with either a goal or an assist.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah continues to celebrate the Holidays with a pre-Christmas bout with the Dallas Stars tomorrow on Monday, Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. Monday’s game is the last for Utah before the Christmas break, after which the team will welcome the Colorado Avalanche to Delta Center on Dec. 27.
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