WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM 1280 AM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (7-7-3) wraps up a three-game homestand Monday night against the Washington Capitals (11-4-1) at Delta Center. Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin makes his way to Utah for the first time as he pursues Wayne Gretzy’s career goal record. Ovechkin is currently 32 goals behind the Great One’s mark of 894.
ONE-TIMERS
- Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev has goals in back-to-back games and in each of his last four games at Delta Center.
- Utah is 4-3-1 when playing at Delta Center.
- Utah is 4-2-0 against Eastern Conference opponents this season.
- Mikhail Sergachev and Dylan Guenther are tied for the team lead with two power-play goals each.
- Utah finished with a season-high 34 shots on goal against Vegas on Friday.
MONDAY’S MATCHUP
Washington has been one of the league’s best teams to start the season. Currently holding the second place spot in the Metropolitan Division with 23 points, the Capitals have not lost more than two games in a row this season. Washington averages 4.19 goals-for per game, ranking as the second most deadly offense in the NHL. Dylan Strome leads the team with 24 points (5G, 19A) and Connor McMichael is off to an excellent start with a team-high 12 goals.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #98 MIKHAIL SERGACHEV - Utah’s top defenseman has scored a goal in four straight home games and is the first blueliner to do so in the NHL this season. His 12 points (4G, 8A) are the most by a Utah defenseman this season and are tied for third on the team. Sergachev was originally acquired from the Tampa Bay Lighting in June for defenseman J.J. Moser and forward Conor Geekie, a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
WASHINGTON: #8 ALEX OVECHKIN - Ovechkin is 32 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal-scoring record of 894. Ovechkin currently sits at 863 including his 10 this season. He has scored at least 30 goals in nearly all 20 NHL seasons he has played, with the only exception coming in 2019-20 during the pandemic-shortened campaign. He has led the NHL in scoring nine times, including in 2007-08 when he paced the league with a career-high 65 goals.
LOOK BACK
Vegas came back to edge out Utah 4-2 at Delta Center on Friday night. Utah led 2-0 late into the second period, but two power-play goals from Tomas Hertl and two more tallies from William Karlsson toppled Utah. Mikhail Sergachev netted a power-play goal in the second period for Utah after Logan Cooley started the scoring in the first. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka stopped 25 of 28 Vegas shots.
DEFENDING THE BEST
Washington’s second-ranked offense is the third consecutive top-three scoring team that Utah will face during its homestand. On Wednesday, Utah held the Carolina Hurricanes to just one goal behind Karel Vejmelka’s 49 saves. At the time, Carolina ranked second in the league with an average output of 4.21 goals-for per game. On Friday, the Vegas Golden Knights needed an empty-netter to reach the four-goal mark, still shy of their season average of 4.13 that ranked third in the NHL at the time.
THE KID LINE
The line of Dylan Guenther (21), Logan Cooley (20), and Matias Maccelli (24) has been productive over the last several games. Cooley bagged his third goal of the season on Friday with assists from Guenther and Maccelli, and the three have a combined 13 goals between them. In 43 minutes of ice time together, the trio has produced four goals and has not been scored on yet this season according to Moneypuck.com.
LOOK AHEAD
After the home stretch wraps up on Monday night, Utah hits the road for a four-game road trip to face the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens. The trip starts on Thursday, Nov. 21 against Boston and concludes on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at Montreal.
