The Utah Hockey Club and host Edmonton Oilers will close out the 2024 calendar year on Tuesday night in the second matchup of the season between the Western Conference clubs.
Sitting in third place in the Pacific Division, the Oilers returned home after a disappointing showing in a two-game trek through California. They earned just a single point after skating to a 4-3 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and a 5-3 setback versus the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
From the standpoint of producing goals, no two players on Edmonton’s roster have been as hot as Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl.
After missing five games with injury and returning on Dec. 5, Hyman has collected 10 goals and three assists in 11 games this month.
Draisaitl paces the NHL with 26 goals after scoring twice versus the Ducks. He has totaled 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in his past 11 contests.
Coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday after practice that he had not decided on a lineup for Tuesday’s game.
Much of that focuses on struggling veteran Jeff Skinner, who has one goal and one assist in the past nine games and just six tallies all season.
Skinner served as a healthy scratch against Anaheim.
“He hasn’t had the confidence with the puck as much as he has in the past, and you look at his shooting percentage — a lot of that’s luck and a lot of it’s feeling confident putting the puck in the net,” Knoblauch said Monday at practice. “A lot of it’s just him finding his game and how he usually plays.”
Edmonton recorded a 4-3 victory after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in overtime in the first meeting against Utah in Salt Lake City on Nov. 29.
Utah saw its seven-game road winning streak halted and its overall losing skid extend to four matches on Monday after the Seattle Kraken scored three goals in third period of a 5-2 decision.
Prior to that loss, Utah dropped a 4-1 setback to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday to conclude a fruitless three-game homestand.
In 16 home games, Utah has only five wins (5-7-4).
The road has been a different story, where the club is 11-7-2.
According to coach Andre Tourigny, much of the success lies between the pipes with goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who made 28 saves on Monday.
“Huge,” Tourigny responded when asked what the 6-foot-4 Czech netminder means to the club’s success. “He’s been tuned in and kept us in games and given us a chance to win the game every night.”
Vejmelka is 8-10-2 with a 2.40 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
Dylan Guenther tops Utah with 16 goals while Clayton Keller leads in assists (24) and points (37).
Utah will close out its four-game road swing with games against the Calgary Flames on Thursday and Dallas Stars on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
