WHEN: 7:30 p.m. MT
WHERE: Delta Center – Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM, NHL App
A season-long seven-game homestand concludes tonight as the Utah Hockey Club (19-19-7) hosts the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets (31-13-3) at Delta Center. Utah picked up its second win of the homestand with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, and are currently six points out of a playoff position. The Jets have won three of their last four and have been one of the NHL’s top teams since the start of the season.
ONE-TIMERS
- Logan Cooley has goals in three straight games.
- Clayton Keller leads the team with 48 points (15G, 33A).
- With 45 points, Utah is six points behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card position in the Western Conference.
- Utah won on Saturday against St. Louis despite missing its top goal scorer (Dylan Guenther) and top defenseman (Mikhail Sergachev) due to injury.
- Michael Kesselring scored his first career power-play goal on Saturday.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Winnipeg Jets lead the entire Western Conference with 65 points and rank second in the NHL behind only the Washington Capitals (67 points). Winnipeg’s +52 goal differential is the best in the league, and the Jets are elite at both ends of the ice. Kyle Connor leads the NHL’s third-best scoring attack with 60 points (26G, 34A), and Connor Hellebuyck anchors the league’s top defensive side with the best goaltending numbers (1.97 goals-against average, .929 save percentage) in the NHL.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #6 JOHN MARINO – Marino picked up his first point in Mountain Blue on Saturday night with an assist on Nick Schmaltz’s first-period goal. Marino has now played in his first three games for Utah after missing the first 42 games due to injury. The defenseman led all Utah skaters on Saturday with 24:14 of ice time.
WINNIPEG: #55 MARK SCHEIFELE – Prior to being held scoreless in Winnipeg’s last game on Saturday against the Calgary Flames, Scheifele had goals in four straight games to bring his season total to 27- good for the team lead. The veteran forward ranks second in scoring for the Jets with 53 points (27G, 26A) in 47 games.
LOOK BACK
Utah took down the St. Louis Blues 4-2 at Delta Center on Saturday night. After Utah allowed a goal just two minutes into the first period from Tyler Tucker, Liam O’Brien dropped the gloves with Tucker in a momentum-changing tilt that sparked a three-goal outburst in the first frame. Michael Kesselring netted his fifth goal of the year to tie the game 1-1 on the power play, and two more goals from Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller brought Utah a 3-1 edge after 20 minutes. The Blues’ Jake Neighbours trimmed Utah’s lead down to 3-2 in the second period, but Logan Cooley found the back of the net later in the period to make it a 4-2 contest. Keller factored into all four goals for Utah, picking up a goal and three assists. Goaltender Connor Ingram picked up the win with 22 saves on 24 shots.
LAST MEETING
The Winnipeg Jets, the top team in the NHL at the time, took down the Utah Hockey Club 3-0 on Nov. 5 at Canada Life Centre. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck recorded his 39th career shutout with 21 saves against Utah, and Nino Niederreiter scored two goals for Winnipeg in his 900th NHL game.
CLAYTON KELLER
There have been two four-point games in the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season so far, and both belong to Captain Clayton Keller. Keller tabbed a goal and three assists on Saturday against St. Louis, bringing his season total to 48 points (15G, 33A). His other four-point night came on Dec. 22 against Anaheim when he recorded two goals and two assists. The 26-year-old now has seven points (1G, 6A) in his last three games, and he now has played a part in Utah’s last five goals. Keller is currently on pace for 89 points this season which would mark a career high.
LIAM O’BRIEN
Last season, O’Brien led the NHL with 153 penalty minutes while playing for the Arizona Coyotes. This season with Utah, O’Brien has 24 penalty minutes in 10 games, including a five-minute fighting major for dropping the gloves with St. Louis’ Tyler Tucker on Saturday. The fight on Saturday came immediately after Tucker scored to give the Blues a 1-0 lead in the first period, and the bout promptly changed the momentum of the game. Utah outshot St. Louis 10-1 in the next several minutes following the fight, including three goals to take a 3-1 advantage. O’Brien has two fighting majors under his belt this season, giving Utah the fourth-most fighting majors in the NHL with 16.
LOOK AHEAD
A challenging three-game road swing lies ahead for Utah with games against the Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets, and Ottawa Senators, all of which are currently well within the playoff picture. The road trip opens on Thursday, Jan. 23 when Utah meets Minnesota for the third time this season at 6 p.m. MT.
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