Utah’s strangest game of the season ends in a 4-2 loss

The Utah Hockey Club has accomplished a lot in its inaugural seasons. One thing that it has failed to do, though, is beat the Los Angeles Kings.

In a season a lot of people underestimated the Kings, they’ve taken pride in proving people wrong. They’re three points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the Pacific Division lead, leading many to wonder if this is the year they’ll get past the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs.

On Thursday night when Utah and Los Angeles met, it was a game of strange bounces at the Delta Center. An early Dylan Guenther goal was called off because the puck carrier was offside — something that can’t happen unless he passes it backwards (which is exactly what happened).

Later on, the Kings scored the first allowed goal, though nobody realized it until a few minutes later (we’ll get into the details below).

In the third period, the Kings scored twice at 4 on 4, followed by an empty-netter from distance. Then, with 20 seconds to go, UHC tallied a power play goal — something they struggled to do all of March.

It ended with a final score of 4-2, though Utah out-shot LA 30-19.

“I think we played a really solid, solid game,” said UHC head coach André Tourigny. “There were a few broken plays that made a difference in the game, but I think the guys were ready and we were really structured.”

Utah Hockey for dummies

As promised, we’ll dive into the Kings’ first goal. I got questions on X about it so I’m sure there are plenty of people wondering why it counted.

It started when Logan Cooley dragged Adrian Kempe down on a back-check, causing him to crash into Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka.

The referee’s arm immediately went up to call Cooley for interference, meanwhile Cooley went after Kempe for running into the goalie.

As Utah’s captain was arguing on Cooley’s behalf, the officials were looking at another aspect of the play: the fact that the puck was in the net.

Andrei Kuzmenko’s shot landed in Vejmelka’s glove initially, but he dropped it as Kempe came barreling toward him. Kempe’s skate pushed it under Vejmelka as he fell, and it ended up in the net.

It’s hard to see it on most of the replay angles, but the overhead camera caught it perfectly. It’s one of the stranger goals you’ll ever see, but it was the right call.

Utah Hockey for casual fans

Before the game, Kings head coach Jim Hiller was confident.

“I’d be surprised if we’re not really good tonight," he said.

He also indicated that he’d like to fire lots of shots at Vejmelka, who was bound to be fatigued in his 19th consecutive start.

“We want to get (to the front of the net) every night, but the fact that he’s played a lot (will) incentivize the players,” Hiller said. “If we can get there, maybe we can find a couple extra ones.”

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When the shots were 25-9 in Utah HC’s favor after the second period, it was clear that he may have underestimated his opponent. Hiller recognized his fault after the game.

“Well, I was wrong, first of all,” he said. “I said our legs would be good and we would play well, and we did not for the first 40 minutes — with the exception of the goalie. But then give our guys credit. Third period, we played good.”

He’s right. The Kings were the better team in the third period by most metrics — not just because they scored more goals. They dominated in terms of shots, scoring chances, expected goals and even face-offs.

UHC associate captain Lawson Crouse was frustrated that his team’s solid play through the first two frames didn’t supply the result he wanted.

“We were in control of the game,” he said. “We were playing hungry hockey, determined hockey and (it’s) just a crappy feeling when it doesn’t pay out.”

Utah Hockey for nerds

Two goals against at 4 on 4 put a close game out of reach for UHC.

They’ve now allowed five goals at 4 on 4 this season — tied for the second-most in the league. Additionally, they’re tied for the second-most goals against at 3 on 3 with eight.

It’s not the first time Utah has allowed multiple 4 on 4 goals in a game, either. It was a major contributor in their 4-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators back in October.

Crouse offered a reason as to why that’s been a struggle.

“It’s man-on-man coverage,” he said. “(There are) picks — you have to fight through stuff like that.”

Guenther gave a good perspective on situations like these.

“You’re always playing for something,” he said. “These next (six) games can give us momentum into next season, so they’re all big.”

He’s right, and his message applies to lapses like the ones Utah had at 4 on 4. Utah HC should take these situations as learning opportunities: Realize that it’s a weakness and figure out how to correct it.

If they do it right, next year’s team won’t have to worry about playing at 4 on 4.

What’s next?

Utah’s home stand continues with an early-evening game on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets.

The Jets are in contention for the Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the best team in the regular season. They’re currently in first place with the Washington Capitals and the Dallas Stars knocking at the door.

UHC has a chance to even up its season series with the Jets, who have beaten them twice in Winnipeg. If they can pull it off, the home team will have won every game between them.

The game starts at 5 p.m. MDT and will be shown on Utah 16, Utah HC+ and NHL Network.