The Utah Hockey Club‘s (20-19-7) Dylan Guenther‘s 16 goals are tied for the team’s best with Clayton Keller. The difference? Keller has five more games under his belt this season than Guenther.
“He’s not in the picture right now,” Utah’s head coach André Tourigny said about Guenther’s lower-body injury on Jan. 20. “He’s skating as good as me right now. I can tell you that’s far away from NHL ready.”
Related: Utah Counting on Dylan Guenther in Inaugural NHL Season
The 21-year-old goal-scorer collided with Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov on Jan. 8 and has missed Utah’s past six games. He was placed on injured reserve on Jan. 14. Guenther, arguably the team’s best shooter, has potted seven power-play goals this season. Tied with Logan Cooley in power-play goals, some may question Utah’s goal-scoring abilities without him.
So far, Utah has a 3-3-0 record without Guenther. During this span, each player on its first line has over a point-per-game average, while the second line has combined for seven points. Let’s look at Utah’s newly created top-six’s successful start.
First Line: Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Nick Schmaltz
Tourigny penciled in Keller, Cooley and Nick Schmaltz together on the Arizona Coyotes’ top line last season. Playing over 100 minutes on the same line, the trio generated a 71.4% goal percentage–the best out of any forward line in Arizona in 2023-24. A year later, in its inaugural NHL season, the three boast a 70% goal percentage–the second-best out of any Utah forward line in 2024-25. Additionally, these three forwards account for Utah’s fourth-best forward line in terms of goals for with seven. Here’s a look at each player’s stats amid this six-game span:
- Clayton Keller from Jan. 10 to Jan. 20
- Two goals
- Eight assists
- 10 points
- Plus-2 rating
- Logan Cooley from Jan. 10 to Jan. 20
- Four goals
- Three assists
- Seven points
- Plus-2 rating
- Nick Schmaltz from Jan. 10 to Jan. 20
- Three goals
- Five assists
- Eight points
- Plus-2 rating
Despite the line’s offensive production, Tourigny has been just as pleased in other aspects of the game.
“Points are great and important, but the way he played, period. His intensity on the backcheck, intensity in the D-zone, his detail… he stayed focused all night long,” Tourigny said of Keller….
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