WHEN: 5:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: TD Garden - Boston, Massachusetts
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM 1280 AM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (7-8-3) embarks on a four-game road trip starting tonight in New England against the Boston Bruins (8-9-3). Utah looks to get back to .500 after a 1-2-0 homestand facing three of the NHL’s top teams. Utah and Boston last met on Oct. 19 at Delta Center when Utah pulled out a 2-1 overtime victory on home ice.
ONE-TIMERS
- Captain Clayton Keller leads the team with 16 points (6G, 10A).
- Utah is 4-3-0 against the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
- Utah’s Michael Kesselring scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Oct. 19 at Delta Center when these teams last met.
- Utah went 2-1-0 against the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils on the team’s only other trip to the Eastern Time Zone.
MONDAY’S MATCHUP
Boston’s struggles through the first two months of the season led General Manager Don Sweeney to replace Head Coach Jim Montgomery with Interim Head Coach Joe Sacco on Tuesday. Sacco, a Medford, Massachusetts native, spent the last 10 seasons as an assistant coach with the Bruins after playing 738 games in the NHL himself. Boston’s biggest struggles this year have come offensively where their 2.40 goals-for per game ranks 31st in the league and their 11.7% power-play mark ranks last. Despite this, the Bruins are just one point out of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference and feature some of the league’s most revered players like David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Charlie McAvoy.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #22 JACK MCBAIN - McBain scored the first goal in Monday’s 6-2 loss to the Washington Capitals and has three goals in his last five games. The 24-year-old is on pace for a career-high 36 points with eight (5G, 3A) in 18 games so far this season. Tonight is a homecoming of sorts for McBain who spent four seasons in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts at Boston College. The 6-foot-4 forward leads Utah with 33 penalty minutes and three fighting majors this season.
BOSTON: #13 CHARLIE COYLE - Coyle has two goals in his last three games for the Bruins and is now up to four on the season. The 32-year-old from East Weymouth, Massachusetts is in his seventh season with the Bruins after seven seasons with the Minnesota Wild. Coyle also spent a pair of seasons playing for the Boston University Terriers.
LOOK BACK
Utah jumped out to an excellent start on Monday against the Washington Capitals when Jack McBain scored just three minutes into the first period at Delta Center. Later in the first, Washington took control with three goals within a 3:19 window to take a 3-1 lead. Alex Ovechkin scored his 867th and 868th career NHL goals as the Caps piled on throughout the contest. Nick Bjugstad picked up his third goal of the year to lower Washington’s lead to 4-2, but that would be as close as Utah could pull.
BOSTON REUNION
Four Utah skaters have direct ties to the Boston area: Alexander Kerfoot (played at Harvard University 2013-17), Clayton Keller (played at Boston University 2016-17), Jack McBain (played at Boston College 2018-22), and Michael Kesselring (grew up in nearby New Hampshire as a Bruins fan, played at Northeastern University 2019-21). Kerfoot won the city’s coveted Beanpot tournament in 2017 with Harvard over Keller’s BU side. Kesselring also captured the Beanpot in 2020 with Northeastern as a freshman. Utah’s TV analyst Dominic Moore also played the 2016-17 season with the Boston Bruins and totaled 25 points (11G, 14A) in 82 games.
STAUBER CALLED UP FROM AHL TUCSON
Utah announced on Wednesday that goaltender Jaxson Stauber had been recalled from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners after Connor Ingram sustained an injury and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. This year with Tucson, Stauber is 5-2-0 with a 2.29 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. The Wayzata, Minnesota native has seen NHL action previously with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023 and went 5-1-0 with a 2.81 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah’s road trip continues on Saturday, Nov. 23 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Second-year player and Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley will be returning to play in his hometown for the second time of his NHL career. After Saturday, Utah turns around and heads north to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, Nov. 24 and the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
