Utah Hockey Club squanders a 4-1 lead to the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks beat Utah in a shootout 5-4 at Delta Center on Sunday. Utah falls to 16-11-6.
Clayton Keller had two goals and two assists for Utah. Keller’s second goal gave Utah a 4-1 lead at 5:57 of the second period. Keller had the first four-point game for Utah. He has six goals in his past six games.
Goaltender Jaxson Stauber made 26 saves.
The comeback for the Ducks started when Isac Lundestrom scored in the second period, assisted by Olen Zellweger and Jansen Harkins. Lundestrom recorded his fourth goal of the season.
Robbi Fabbri scored the third goal in the third period, and then Brett Leason tied the game at 4 with a power-play goal.
Utah won 55 percent of the face-offs. Both teams struggled on power play possessions. Anaheim went 1 for 6, while Utah went 1 for 5.
Logan Cooley scored the only power-play goal for Utah during the second period. Utah blocked 25 shots.
After the game, Keller spoke with the media, knowing that the team must execute better for the next game.
"It was a back-and-forth game, and we just weren't good on our details,”’Keller said. “The good thing about this is we play tomorrow, and we won't have to think about this too much. We'll address it and be better from it."
POSTGAME
— Utah Hockey Club PR (@UtahHC_PR) December 23, 2024
"It was a back-and-forth game, and we just weren't good on our details... Good thing about this is we play tomorrow, and we won't have to think about this too much. We'll address it and be better from it."@utahhockeyclub Clayton Keller on growing from today's loss pic.twitter.com/XZtfb1JZzu
It was indeed a tense back-and-forth game between the Ducks and Utah. The team must regroup and focus on their next task. That’s the mindset of Barrett Hayton, who also scored a goal, as he and the team look forward to facing the Dallas Stars.
"It's gotta be a quick reset,” Hayton said. “We need to address the things that made this unravel tonight, but we have the opportunity to go out tomorrow, play a great team and try to get back on track."
POSTGAME
— Utah Hockey Club PR (@UtahHC_PR) December 23, 2024
"It's gotta be a quick reset. We need to address the things that made this unravel tonight, but we have the opportunity to go out tomorrow, play a great team and try to get back on track."@utahhockeyclub Barrett Hayton on shifting the focus to Dallas tomorrow pic.twitter.com/7iD3cQPIQN
Utah extended its season-long point streak to eight games, becoming the fifth franchise in NHL history to record a point streak of at least eight games during its inaugural campaign.
Utah has been playing great hockey lately. The team could’ve won more games this season had they not given up the lead or managed to close out games. Utah must improve their defensive abilities in the third period and play great hockey from start to finish.
The team has a chance to redeem themselves on Monday. Utah will play against the Stars at Delta Center on Monday night.