The losing streak is over! The Utah Hockey Club beatdown the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night at the Delta Center, snapping their four-game losing streak with a 5-1 win.
Utah maintained a firm grip on the game from the start despite the Flames outshooting them by three shots. Utah's complete control was evident, as they finished the game with a 16-shot advantage and nine more scoring chances than the Flames.
In addition to dominating the scoreboard, Utah also won the expected goal battle 3.55 to 2.14. This win against the Flames may have been Utah's best and most complete win of the season.
That said, here are three thoughts, one from each period, that led me to believe this is Utah's best game of the season.
All stats from NaturalStatTrick
1st Period: Utah Hockey Club locked in from start to finish
Utah came out flying in the first period. They had several great scoring chances early in the game, including two partial breakaways in which Nick Bjugstad missed the net. However, Utah would open the scoring just after the five-minute mark on an Alex Kerfoot snapshot from the top of the circle.
Utah finished the period in the best way possible, scoring at four-on-four with two seconds left. Ian Cole got the zone entry and dropped the puck to Nick Schmaltz, who then fed Barrett Hayton coming in on the rush, and he snapped it past Dustin Wolf to take a two-goal lead into the first intermission.
It's not that Utah has had a problem starting games on time and coming out flat in the first period. Still, this first-period effort against the Flames may have been the best time we have seen from this team. They were playing at an unbelievable pace the Flames could not match; they were physically winning puck battles, creating sustained offensive zone pressure, which led to many scoring chances. If Utah consistently puts forth this effort, they will keep winning games. It's that simple.
2nd Period: Maveric Lamoureux scores first NHL goal for the Utah Hockey Club
Maveric Lamoureux made his NHL debut for the Utah Hockey Club last Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche. Since coming up to the NHL, he has made a significant impact, even in his first game, leading all Utah defensemen in time on ice at five-on-five.
In his fourth NHL career game, Lamoureux scored his first career goal on a slapshot from the point. The Arizona Coyotes drafted Lamoureux in 2022. During his junior hockey career, he suffered many injuries, which forced him to miss some critical development years.
Despite that, Lamoureux did not let those injuries hold him back and somehow continued to develop his game from the sidelines to reach an NHL level.
It is fantastic to see a kid genuinely grateful for the opportunity to play in the NHL and score his first goal. However, it is even better that Lamoureux will be great for the Utah Hockey Club for years.
3rd Period: Utah Hockey Club confidently holds onto the lead vs Flames
I am sure many Utah fans weren't exactly comfortable going into the third period with a 4-1 lead, considering that was the exact same lead Utah blew on Monday night against the San Jose Sharks.
There was a good reason to believe that Utah may have been gripping their sticks a little tighter in the third period against the Flames and just trying to get across the finish line with a win, especially considering Utah was chasing the game a bit in the second period despite winning that frame 2-0.
But in the third, Utah came out firing again and did not even give the Flames a chance to get back in this game. Even though they gave up one goal, Utah had 10 more shot attempts than the Flames in the third, double the scoring chances, and still won the expected goal battle in the period.
Even though Calgary found its legs in the second period, Utah did an excellent job of battling and taking advantage of their chances to kill any momentum the Flames had created. It was a great effort from start to finish. This looked more like the Utah team that started the season 3-0 rather than the one that was 1-6 in their last seven going into tonight's game.