The Utah Hockey Club will try to bounce back from their first home loss in Salt Lake City when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.
Utah, which moved north from Tempe, Ariz., in the spring, had won each of its first two games at the Delta Center, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in their home opener, 5-2, and the Boston Bruins, 2-1, in overtime on Saturday. The Ottawa Senators ended the home win streak with a 4-0 victory on Tuesday.
Utah outshot the Senators 8-1 over the first 10 minutes of the first period before Ottawa scored four times over an 8:09 span to take control of the game.
“We obviously came out strong, played well,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “But we didn’t stay in the moment. We got carried away – a little soft defensively, (forced) a play, turnover. We got ahead of ourselves and paid for it.”
Goalie Connor Ingram, who entered the contest with a 4-0-1 record, was pulled after allowing four goals on eight shots. Karel Vejmelka finished up and stopped all 14 shots he faced.
“Everybody in life has a bad day at (the) office sometimes,” Tourigny said when asked about pulling Ingram. “I think as a goaltender you’re exposed more than anybody else. I think you need to make the right decision for the team. It’s nothing personal.”
Utah captain Clayton Keller said his team could learn from the setback.
“We’re still early in the season, we’re learning,” Keller told The Salt Lake Tribune. “We’re learning how to play as a team, we have a lot of new guys. It’s a long season. Can’t get frustrated. Have to stay patient and get better every day and good things happen.”
Colorado began the season with four straight losses but has rebounded to win three in a row, including a 3-2 victory at Seattle on Tuesday.
Defenseman Cale Makar and center Nathan MacKinnon both extended their season-opening point streaks to seven games in the victory.
Makar had two assists and leads the NHL in both points (14) and assists (12). MacKinnon scored what proved to be the game-winner with a power-play goal late in the second period. He’s tied for third in scoring with 12 points (three goals, nine assists).
“I think if you look at all our games over the course of a year, (MacKinnon and Makar) are very impactful and on the score sheet a lot,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “I think the difference this year is that we needed them to be that way right out of the gate because of players that are missing from the lineup.”
Joel Kiviranta scored twice and Justus Annunen made 25 saves for the Avalanche. Makar assisted on Colorado’s final two goals, including MacKinnon’s game-winner.
“I think I’m just trying to find guys,” Makar told NHL.com when asked about his point streak. “I’m trying to be a little bit of a facilitator, and then, obviously, guys are finding and putting themselves in good spots.”
Utah got some bad news on the injury front Wednesday. The team announced that defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino will both miss multiple months after having surgery.
Durzi, the team’s top scoring defenseman last season (41 points), will miss between four to six months after undergoing surgery for a right shoulder injury suffered in a 3-0 loss at New Jersey on Oct. 14. Marino, a 27-year-old rookie, had surgery on his lower back and will be out for three to four months.
–Field Level Media