There was a touchdown scored on Saturday afternoon but it wasn’t in a football game. The Utah Hockey Club gave up seven goals to the Carolina Hurricanes, eventually losing 7-3. Losing continues to plague Utah. Here are some takeaways from Sunday’s game.
Clayton Keller Hits the 20-Goal Mark
Perhaps the best thing that came out of Utah’s touchdown loss was Clayton Keller hitting the 20-goal mark, which is a benchmark many like to judge by in the hockey world. Most NHL teams have a couple of 20-goal scorers on the team. This hasn’t always been the case for Utah’s core. When the team was in Arizona, they struggled to score goals at points in time, especially when they were playing under their previous coach Rick Tocchet.
During the 2019-20 season, the Arizona Coyotes only had one 20-goal scorer in Conor Garland. The next season, Phil Kessel was the only player to reach that benchmark. When head coach André Tourigny took over the team from Tocchet, the offense started getting better. By the 2023-24 season, the Coyotes had six 20-goal scorers including Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, Michael Carcone, Nick Schmaltz, Logan Cooley, and Nick Bjugstad. Dylan Guenther arguably would’ve been a seventh name if he had played a full season in the NHL.
Fast forward to this season and a lot of those names look like a flash in the pan. Crouse and Carcone have struggled tremendously and have been healthy scratches at points in time. Schmaltz had a miserable start to the season, not scoring a goal until November. Bjugstad hasn’t been the highly effective depth player Utah can rely on.
Related: Utah’s Cameron Hebig’s AHL All-Star Selection Was Earned
Why does this all matter? It’s a reason why Utah’s record hasn’t improved from last season in Arizona. Offense has been an issue as it’s been the same contributors over and over again; Keller, Guenther, Cooley, and Schmaltz. Winning can’t be sustainable if Utah doesn’t get any contributions from their bottom six. It’s the reason why you keep hearing around social media that Utah will be going big game hunting soon with their incredible amount of cap space thanks to the rising cap.
Tying this all back to Keller, consistency has been an issue for Utah but not for him. This is his fourth straight 20-goal season. He continues to be the franchise’s top scorer amidst a move to Salt Lake City. His two goals gave Utah a fighting chance against the Hurricanes. It’s…
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