The Utah Hockey Club did not just lose the game to the New Jersey Devils; they also lost one of their best defencemen, Sean Durzi, who left the game in the first period with an injury and would not return.
Durzi would take 12 shifts in the first period before being forced out. It is unclear what caused the injury, but it was reported that he was ruled out with an upper-body injury.
After watching the first period back to pinpoint where this injury happened, I could only see one play that may have caused it.
With approximately 2:35 left in the first period, the puck returned to Durzi, who collected it before turning up the ice. Durzi carried the puck past center ice and dished it into the Devils' zone. Following the dump, Durzi took a shoulder-to-shoulder check right in front of the Devils' bench, which resulted in Durzi going off balance and awkwardly holding himself up using the boards.
Although not confirmed by anyone, this could have been where the injury came from, as Durzi would not take another shift after taking this hit in the neutral zone.
Sean Durzi injured in Utah Hockey Club loss to the Devils
Following the loss to the New Jersey Devils, Utah Hockey Club head coach Andre Tourigny did not have an update on Durzi's status in his postgame interview. Tourigny only said that Durzi must be reevaluated (via Belle Fraser).
Belle Fraser also reported that Durzi was in a sling after the game.
Tourigny had no update on defenseman Sean Durzi who left the game with an upper-body injury in the second period. Said he’ll be reevaluated. Was in a sling postgame.
— Belle Fraser (@bellefraser1) October 14, 2024
Sean Durzi is a big piece of this Utah Hockey Club team. He has been playing on the top pairing with Mikhail Sergachev and has played the fourth most minutes at five-on-five for this team.
Durzi has yet to get on the score sheet this year, but through the first three games, he has provided an offensive spark from the blue line, generating five shots on goal and two high-danger scoring chances. In addition, Durzi and Sergachev are the only two Utah defensemen winning their minutes at five-on-five with above a 51% expected goal share, scoring chance share and high-danger chance share percentage.
While no timeline is announced for this injury, coach Tourigny's statement that Durzi needs to be reevaluated and his leaving the game in a sling are not great signs, suggesting he will miss some time. If this injury is significant, Utah's blueline could be in trouble, considering John Marino remains weeks away from making his Utah debut and Utah's seventh defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is not suited to play top-four minutes and outside of Mikhail Sergachev, none of the other four that have been in the lineup has proven to be reliable just yet.