GamePreview 16x9

WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, NashCast, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, NHL App

Tonight, the Utah Hockey Club (18-18-7) welcomes the New York Rangers (20-20-3) to Delta Center for the second and final meeting of the season between the two teams. Utah is looking for just its third win in the last 12 games, and the Rangers seek to keep their five-game point streak alive. Tonight is also the return of NashCast, an exclusive alt-cast on UtahHC+ featuring Tyson Nash and Austin Facer.

ONE-TIMERS

  • Clayton Keller leads Utah in scoring with 43 points (14G, 29A) in 42 games.
  • The Rangers give up the third-most shots in the NHL at 31.2 per contest.
  • Seven Utah skaters are on pace to set career highs in goals: Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Michael Kesselring, Vladislav Kolyachonok, Jack McBain, Mikhail Sergachev, and Kevin Stenlund.
  • Utah is only six points out of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
  • Nick Schmaltz is riding a three-game point streak (2G, 2A) into tonight’s game.

NASHCAST

Tonight’s game will also feature a NashCast viewing experience on SEG+ to go along with the traditional game broadcast. Tyson Nash, a former NHL player and current NHL broadcast personality, and Austin Facer, host of the podcast SLC Puck!, will welcome special guests like Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, former players, notable Utahns, and other prominent characters in hockey and Utah. Together, Nash, Facer, and guests will watch the game live, tell stories, discuss the state of hockey, and more. Fans can sign up to watch tonight’s NashCast along with traditional game broadcasts and an entire library of content segplus.com.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

The Rangers started the season as a favorite to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, but New York is currently five points out of a wild card position in a crowded Eastern Conference. That being said, the Blue Shirts are charging, and they have earned points in each of their last five games and had won four straight before a 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

Artemi Panarin leads the team in 45 points (17G, 28A), but perhaps the most valuable skater for New York is their top defenseman Adam Fox. Fox has 33 points (2G, 31A) this season to rank second on the team in scoring, and he played in his 400th career NHL game on Tuesday against Colorado. Fox has had three straight 70-point seasons but is on pace to miss that mark this year.

You can’t talk about the Rangers without mentioning goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin is 13-15-2 this season with a 2.97 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. While his numbers are down this year, the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner is still viewed as one of the best goaltenders in the world.

WHO TO WATCH

UTAH: #91 JOSH DOAN - Doan scored his second goal in Mountain Blue on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens and now has two tallies and an assist in 12 games this season for Utah. The former second-round pick has spent most of the season in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners where he was named an AHL All-Star for the second year in a row after totaling 21 points (8G, 13A) in 25 games this season.

NEW YORK: #10 ARTEMI PANARIN - Panarin leads New York in scoring with 45 points (17G, 28A) this season and is on pace for 34 goals in 2024-25. The sixth-year Ranger had two goals against Utah when the teams last met on Oct. 12.

LOOK BACK

Utah pulled ahead just 2:11 into the first period against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at Delta Center after a 5-on-3 goal from Josh Doan. Mike Matheson scored to tie the game at 1-1 just 1:07 later, but Nick Bjugstad found the back of the net with less than a minute remaining in the first to return the lead to Utah. Up 2-1 in the second, Utah committed three penalties in the middle frame to allow momentum to swing back in Montreal’s favor, and the Canadiens gained a 3-2 edge with goals from Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach. Down a goal in the third, Logan Cooley tied things up for Utah with his 12th goal of the season, but Cole Caufield scored off a faceoff minutes later to put Montreal ahead for good. Dach picked up his second of the game late in the third to seal a 5-3 win for the Canadiens.

LAST MEETING

Utah stunned New York 6-5 in overtime on Oct. 12 at Madison Square Garden. After the two sides traded goals in the first period, Utah and New York exploded for a combined seven goals in the middle frame- Utah with four goals in the period and New York with three. Will Cuylle tied the game at 5-5 in the third period after the Rangers erased two separate two-goal leads for Utah. In overtime, Clayton Keller scored to give Utah its third straight win to open the season. Keller finished with two goals and an assist on the night. In net for the visitors, Connor Ingram stopped 29 of 34 New York shots.

LOGAN COOLEY

Logan Cooley is one of Utah’s brightest young stars, and he is on pace this season to produce 23 goals, 48 assists, and 71 points- all of which would be new career highs for the 20-year-old. After an injury to Cooley’s linemate Dylan Guenther, Cooley has slotted in on Utah’s top forward line with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz for the last three games. The centerman has seen his role increase in those last three games, and he played a career high 24:50 on Tuesday against Montreal. The 24:50 of ice time for Cooley was also the most by any Utah forward in a game this season. In his first 21 games of the season, he had just three goals. In his last 21 games, Cooley has 9 tallies and is tied for the most amongst Utah skaters in that span. Taken third overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Cooley leads all players taken in that draft in scoring this season with 37 points (12G, 25A).

LOOK AHEAD

Utah will play the fifth game of its season-long seven-game homestand on Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues, and the finale to the homestand comes on Monday, Jan. 20 against the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets.

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected

      MTL at UTA | Recap