The Utah Hockey Club has played four games over the first week of the NHL season. We saw this team win its season opener at home against the Chicago Blackhawks and then go on the road to beat the New York Islanders and the Stanley Cup-contending New York Rangers.
Utah then lost its fourth game of the season, wrapping up the first week of games in Utah's franchise history.
With the Utah Hockey Club set for a matchup with the Anaheim Ducks tonight to open the second week of the season, let's look back at these first four games and the Utah Hockey Club's standout players from week one.
A Week In Review: Utah Hockey Club 3 Top Performers
Several players on this roster stood out during the season's first week. Utah has four players who rank among the top 30 point scorers in the NHL, including Dylan Guenther, who leads the NHL in goals scored through the season's first week.
Guenther was voted the NHL's player of the week, beating out stellar starts to the season from Connor Hellebuyuck and Jack Eichel, who were voted the NHL's second and third stars of the week. With Guenther being voted the best player in the NHL over the last week, let's start with his excellent start to the season.
- Dylan Guenther
Dylan Guenther started the season on fire. He scored the first goal of the season for the Utah Hockey Club on a long shot off the rush, which beat Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek before he could even react.
Guenther continued to show off his elite shot, scoring another goal against the Blackhawks, two more against the Islanders, and then his fifth against the Rangers.
Guenther led the Utah Hockey Club in shot attempts and is second in expected goals. Utah needs this kid to continue to put the puck in the back of the net, especially considering they may struggle defensively now with Sean Durzi set to miss considerable time with an injury.
- Barrett Hayton
Utah's top line of Hayton, Clayton Keller, and Nick Schmaltz dominated throughout the season's first week. But Hayton's performance was remarkable, considering he struggled to find his footing offensively last season. A hot start this year has been a great confidence booster for him.
Hayton recorded five points total in Utah's first four games. However, what was most impressive was Hayton scoring three goals at five-on-five.
Hayton's 1.78 expected goals, 10 shots on goal, 17 unblocked shot attempts, 16 scoring chances and 10 high-danger chances lead all Utah players at five-on-five this season.
If Hayton can maintain this level of play, Utah's topline will continue to dominate.
- Mikhail Sergachev
Sergachev was brought in to be the No.1 guy on Utah's blueline and has been phenomenal to start the season. He has recorded three points in four games but has also been one of the only Utah defensemen to win his minutes at five-on-five.
Through the Utah Hockey Club's first four games, Sergachev leads all Utah defencemen in on-ice unblocked shot attempts, scoring chances, high-danger chances and expected goal percentages at five-on-five.
Before the season, there was some concern that Sergachev may be unable to handle this number one role as he has never been entrusted as the No.1 guy in Tampa and was coming off a gruesome leg injury. But everything he has shown so far shows why Bill Armstrong was so willing to go out and get this guy in the offseason. Sergachev has been dominant on both ends of the ice.