The Utah Hockey Club’s maiden season is off to a rousing start. The NHL’s newest team has points in five of its first six games (4-1-1), including a pair of overtime wins against the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.
The vibes are off the charts in Salt Lake City, but what about the numbers?
Utah’s offence, which has averaged 3.67 goals per game, is most effective off the cycle, generating 7.94 scoring chances per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. That ranks 12th in the league.
Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz have set the tone. Utah’s top line has created 18 cycle scoring chances at 5-on-5 and allowed just five, which has helped the team generate 60.2 per cent of the expected goals during 71:03 of ice time. (Those 18 cycle chances have led to two goals.)
In particular, Hayton’s performance so far this season has been encouraging. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 draft has had an up-and-down start to his NHL career but seems to have found his footing as Utah’s No. 1 centre. Hayton has been a handful around the crease, sharing the league lead in deflections on net. His four inner-slot goals in all situations are also tied for most in the league.
“He’s a player who does a lot of unsung stuff, a lot of stuff people don’t talk about,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny told reporters. “But he makes others better by doing all the dirty jobs.”
Meanwhile, on Utah’s second line, Dylan Guenther is well on his way to a big breakout season. The 21-year-old forward, who has five goals in six games, is one of the league’s most dynamic skaters. Guenther averages 2.19 rush scoring chances per 20 minutes at 5-on-5 — first among 305 forwards who have played at least 50 minutes this season. Three of his goals have come courtesy of his rocket-like one-timer.
Guenther’s partner in crime, Logan Cooley, has been tearing it up as well with six assists. Cooley is 13th out of 305 qualified forwards in offence-generating plays per 20 minutes at 5-on-5 (10.5). He and Guenther thrive when playing up-tempo; Utah has out-chanced opponents 9-4 at 5-on-5 off the rush during their shared minutes.
Unfortunately for Utah, though, its defence has already been decimated by injuries. Off-season acquisition John Marino missed all of training camp because of an upper-body injury, and Tourigny told reporters recently that Marino is “months” from returning. Last week, Sean Durzi suffered an upper-body injury that Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman said would sideline him for “four, five months.”
Durzi was playing on Utah’s top pair with Mikhail Sergachev, who now has taken on even greater importance for the first-year franchise. Sergachev has shown no signs of rust after missing nearly three months last season because of a broken leg. He is averaging a whopping 27:01 of ice time per game, trailing only perennial Norris Trophy candidate Roman Josi (27:11) league-wide. (In seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sergachev had an average of 20:25 per game.)
Sergachev’s passing ability has helped fuel Utah’s offence. He is completing 1.61 passes to the slot per 20 in all situations — eighth most out of 106 defencemen who have played a minimum of 100 minutes.
“I love playing a lot, so I feel great,” Sergachev told The Salt Lake Tribune. “It just expedites the process for me of getting back to the form of me playing with confidence and shooting the puck a lot and stuff. … I enjoy (playing big minutes), but it sucks that we have so many injuries.”
Young defenceman Michael Kesselring, 24, has stepped up in Durzi’s absence. He and Sergachev have found early success; Utah has not allowed a goal at 5-on-5 with them on the ice over the past two games.
Kesselring scored the overtime goal Saturday to defeat the Bruins. Three of Utah’s four wins have required overtime, where the club has been dominant. Utah has outshot opponents 8-2 and out-chanced them 11-5 in the extra period.
Utah started the season with one of the youngest rosters in the league. Its average age of 26.8 was third lowest, behind only the Buffalo Sabres (25.3) and Montreal Canadiens (26.0). That exuberance (not to mention a fully engaged market) has led to one of the league’s best stories in the opening month.
All stats via Sportlogiq