Updated at 10:20 AM: The 30-25-and-6 Detroit Red Wings hope to snap a 3-game losing streak as they host the 27-25-and-9 Utah Hockey Club this evening at Little Caesars Arena (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Utah16/97.1 FM).
Utah has been off since Sunday, when they dropped a 3-1 decision to the New Jersey Devils, which snapped a 3-game winning streak. Utah has won 4 of their past 6 games and 6 of their past 9.
Utah’s been busy re-signing players over the past couple of days–from Olli Maatta to Karel Vejmelka to Alex Kerfoot and Ian Cole–and while neither team’s website has posted a game preview as of yet, I wanted to get Field Level Media’s preview out there, as well as tonight’s game notes. I’ll update this post as necessary later this morning:
The Utah Hockey Club has been playing solid defense recently. They have allowed only six goals in the last four games. Utah had a three-game winning streak snapped by New Jersey on Saturday.
The Devils scored twice in the third period to collect a 3-1 victory. Mikhail Sergachev scored Utah’s only goal.
“Obviously, they’re a great team,” Sergachev said. “They’re pretty fast, too. So it was like two fast teams out there. They just scored more than we did.”
Clayton Keller had his six-game points streak snapped in that contest. Keller had recorded four goals and eight assists during the streak.
Olli Maatta will see his former teammates for the first time since Detroit traded him early in the season for a third-round draft pick. The veteran defenseman signed a three-year extension with Utah on Monday.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “It shows they have confidence and trust in you. At the same time, it does put pressure on you to perform and I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s a privilege to be in this situation. Now you’ve got to perform.”
Here are tonight’s game notes, in PDF form. It looks like tonight’s referees and linesmen are very “green”:
Update: Utah HC’s Mike Folta posted a game preview:
LOOK BACK
Utah fell 3-1 to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at Delta Center. After Nico Hischier scored his 25th goal of the season to give New Jersey the lead in the first period, Utah’s Mikhail Sergachev knotted things up at 1-1 in the second frame after a setup from Liam O’Brien.
Later in the third, Timo Meier and Curtis Lazar added to New Jersey’s lead to put the game out of reach. The Devils outshot Utah 29-25, and Utah’s power play went 0-for-2. The loss snapped a three-game win streak and a four-game home win streak for Utah.
FIRST MEETING
Tonight is the first-ever meeting between Utah and Detroit. After this evening, the only team that Utah has yet to face is the Tampa Bay Lightning. Utah will host Tampa Bay on Mar. 22 and then visit the lightning on Mar. 27. The Mountain Blue will conclude its season series with Detroit on Mar. 24 at Delta Center.
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SPECIAL TEAMS
Utah’s special teams have provided major boosts over the last several weeks.
The power play has connected eight times over the last seven games (8-for-23, 34.7%), including three multi-power-play-goal games. Dylan Guenther leads the team with 10 power-play tallies, and Clayton Keller paces the club with 28 power-play points (6G, 22A).
Utah’s penalty kill experienced a rough patch, allowing six power-play goals in five games from Feb. 8 to Feb. 25, but is now back on track after back-to-back 2-for-2 efforts against the Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils. Utah’s penalty kill ranks 12th in the NHL at 80.8% and will be facing an elite Detroit power play that is second in the NHL at 29.1%.
