WHEN: 6:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: American Airlines Center - Dallas, Texas
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (17-14-6) wraps up a four-game road trip tonight in the Lone Star State against the Dallas Stars (23-13-1). Utah picked up its first win of 2025 two nights ago in a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames and now ranks fifth in the Central Division standings. Dallas has won its last three games and four of its last five, and the Stars are currently seven points ahead of Utah in the division table. This evening marks the third of four meetings between the two Central Division foes, and Utah is looking for its first win against the Stars following a pair of one-goal losses.
ONE-TIMERS
- Captain Clayton Keller, who missed a game due to illness, returned to the lineup two nights ago and scored his 14th goal of the season.
- Utah has scored power-play goals in 10 of its last 12 games.
- Utah is 12-8-2 on the road this season.
- Lawson Crouse had two goals against Calgary on Jan. 2.
- Mikhail Sergachev’s Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Stars in six games to win the Stanley Cup in 2020.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight is the third meeting of the season between Utah and Dallas, and the Stars have come away with two tight wins in the previous two matchups: a 2-1 decision on Dec. 2 and a 3-2 final on Dec. 23. Both games were played at Delta Center, but now the season series shifts to American Airlines Center where the Stars have been magnificent with a 15-5-1 record at home, good for the second-most points at home (31) in the NHL.
Dallas is the 11th best team in the league offensively with 3.22 goals per game, but defense is the Stars’ specialty. Dallas ranks second in the NHL by only allowing 2.51 goals per game, and the Stars also have the league’s second-best penalty kill at 85.3%. Miro Heiskanen is the headliner on the back end, but other reliable rearguards like Esa Lindell and Thomas Harley make it difficult for opposing teams to sustain possession in the offensive zone. Up front, Dallas leans on veterans Matt Duchene (15G, 20A), Jamie Benn (9G, 17A), and Roope Hintz (18G, 6A) to lead a forward group capable of scoring with any line.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #67 LAWSON CROUSE - Crouse lit the lamp with two bullseyes against the Flames on Thursday night, marking the eighth multi-goal game of his NHL career. Crouse, named as Utah’s associate captain earlier in the season, is now up to nine points (6G, 3A) on the campaign.
DALLAS: #95 MATT DUCHENE - Duchene leads all Stars with 35 points (15G, 20A) and has goals in two of his last three. Over those last three games, all of which have resulted in Dallas wins, Duchene has produced two multi-point games: one goal and two assists against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 29, and one goal and one assist against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 2.
LOOK BACK
Utah snapped a five-game losing streak on Thursday night in Calgary with a 5-3 win over the Flames. Utah trailed 3-2 entering the third period, but two quick scores within 1:58 of each other from Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse gave Utah the advantage. Crouse finished with two goals on the night for Utah to bring his total to six on the season. Logan Cooley netted a power-play goal after a setup by Dylan Guenther, and Kevin Stenlund provided the empty-netter to seal the victory.
LAST MEETING
Utah fell to Dallas 3-2 at Delta Center on Dec. 23. After the Stars took a 1-0 lead in the middle of the first, Kevin Stenlund quickly answered back with his sixth goal of the year to tie the game at 1-1 just 1:39 after Dallas took the initial edge. The Stars scored two more in the second period and outshot Utah 16-6 in the frame. Utah attempted a third-period comeback and pulled within one after Barrett Hayton bagged his seventh tally of the season, but the effort would fall short. Dallas goaltender Casey DeSmith picked up his second win of the season against Utah by stopping 24 of 26 shots, and Karel Vejmelka was handed the loss after 26 saves on 29 Stars shots.
LOGAN COOLEY
20-year-old Logan Cooley has now set a franchise record with points in 12 straight road games (5G, 12A), and he trails only Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point (14) and Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov (13) for the longest such run this season. The only players aged 20 or younger who have accomplished the feat in NHL history are Nathan MacKinnon (16 in 2013-14), Wayne Gretzky (15 in 1980-81), Mario Lemieux (15 in 1985-86), and Pierre Larouche (13 in 1975-76). Cooley’s 34 points (10G, 24A) tie him with Dylan Guenther (16G, 16A) for second in scoring on Utah’s roster behind only Clayton Keller (15G, 25A). The centerman’s 24 assists this season match his season total from 2023-24 with the Arizona Coyotes in 82 games.
WORLD JUNIORS
Ottawa is currently hosting the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships, and five Utah Hockey Club prospects are in action. Cole Beaudoin (Canada, 2024 1st round), Michael Hrabal (Czechia, 2023 2nd round), Vojtĕch Hradec (Czechia, 2024 6th round), Veeti Väisänen (Finland, 2024 3rd round), and Melker Thelin (Sweden, 2023 5th round) are all representing their countries at the U20 tournament. 15 of Utah’s players have appeared at World Juniors previously:
- Nick Bjugstad (USA) - 2012 (U20), 2011 Bronze (U20)
- Ian Cole (USA) - 2009 (U20), 2008 (U20), 2007 Silver (U18)
- Logan Cooley (USA) - 2023 Bronze (U20), 2022 (U20), 2022 Silver (U18), 2021 (U18)
- Lawson Crouse (CAN) - 2016 (U20), 2015 Gold (U20), 2014 Bronze (U18)
- Dylan Guenther (CAN) - 2023 Gold (U20), 2021 Gold (U18)
- Barrett Hayton (CAN) - 2020 Gold (U20), 2019 (U20)
- Connor Ingram (CAN) - 2017 Silver (U20)
- Clayton Keller (USA) - 2017 Gold (U20), 2016 Bronze (U18), 2015 Gold (U18)
- Vladislav Kolyachonok (BLS) - 2020 Bronze (U20 D1A), 2019 (U18), 2018 (U18)
- Olli Mӓӓttӓ (FIN) - 2013 (U20), 2012 (U20), 2011(U20), 2010 (U18)
- Matias Maccelli (FIN) - 2020 (U20)
- Jack McBain (CAN) - 2018 (U18)
- Mikhail Sergachev (RUS) - 2017 Bronze (U20), 2016 (U18), 2015 (U18)
- Jusso Välimäki (FIN) - 2018 (U20), 2017 (U20), 2016 Gold (U18), 2015 Silver (U18)
- Karel Vejmelka (CZE) - 2014 Silver (U18)
LOOK AHEAD
Utah returns home to face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at Delta Center. The Panthers appear strong again this season and are tied for the third-most points in the Eastern Conference with 50. Wednesday will kick off a seven-game homestand for Utah, its longest of the season.
