The Utah Hockey Club will be aiming to win two straight for the first time since winning the first three games of the season when it hosts the Dallas Stars on Monday evening.
Utah is coming off its best performance of its inaugural season, pounding the Vegas Golden Knights 6-0 on Saturday in Las Vegas and breaking several individual scoring droughts in the process.
Utah forward Clayton Keller said his team was more aggressive against the Golden Knights and didn’t let them dictate the pace.
“We’re a fast team and I think we have our most success when we have the puck on the sticks and we’re making plays,” Keller said. “We’re not sitting back and waiting for them to come to us. It’s a step in the right direction for us moving forward.”
Utah received the first goals of the season from forwards Nick Schmaltz and Michael Carcone in the win against Vegas.
“I think it was good to have Schmaltz get the monkey off his back, Carcone get the monkey off his back,” Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said. “Those two guys are important point producers for us, so it was good for that.”
Carcone scored 21 goals last season (when the club was the Arizona Coyotes) and Schmaltz scored 22 goals in each of the past two seasons and 23 in 2021-22, all with Arizona.
“Kind of a little sigh of relief, feel a little lighter once you see one go in,” Schmaltz said. “Hopefully, that can bring more confidence to my game and more goals.”
Schmaltz and Carcone aren’t the only players who feel like they got a monkey off their back against Vegas.
Keller ended a 12-game goal-less streak with a goal.
“That’s when you learn the most about yourself, when things aren’t going your way,” Keller said. “It’s how you respond, how you get better every single day. It might take longer than you want, but those are the times you learn the most.”
The Stars are also coming off a solid performance on Sunday afternoon, defeating the visiting Winnipeg Jets 3-1 behind 26 saves from Jake Oettinger and three straight goals from Wyatt Johnston, Mason Marchment and Roope Hintz after the Jets had taken an early lead.
Casey DeSmith figures to get the start in goal for Dallas in the second half of the back-to-back set.
DeSmith lost all three of his starts in November, most recently giving up six goals on 26 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
The Stars will look to sharpen up their power play, which went 0-for-5 against Winnipeg after going 2-for-4 in a 5-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, played a factor in the Stars coming up empty with the man-advantage on Sunday.
“We got some really good looks, including a breakaway by Roope, so sometimes you have to tip your hat to the goalie on the other team,” DeBoer said. “I thought despite the fact we didn’t score on it, I think it felt more dangerous than it did a week ago, and we’ve got to continue to build on that.”
–Field Level Media
