WHEN: 5:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: PPG Paints Arena - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL NewsRadio 102.7 FM, NHL App
A four-game eastern road trip for the Utah Hockey Club (7-9-3) continues tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7-11-4) at PPG Paints Arena. Tonight is the first game of a back-to-back set with Utah facing Pittsburgh tonight and the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow. This weekend marks the first time this season that Utah plays on consecutive nights.
ONE-TIMERS
- Captain Clayton Keller leads the team with 16 points (6G, 10A).
- Karel Vejmelka sports a .922 save percentage.
- Dylan Guenther leads the team with seven goals.
- Current Utah defensemen Ian Cole and Olli Maatta each won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
- Tonight is Utah’s first-ever trip to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Penguins enter tonight after a 4-1 loss against the NHL’s top-seeded Winnipeg Jets last night at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh currently rests at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division and are giving up the most goals in the NHL at an average of 3.86 goals-against per game. The Penguins still feature some of the league’s premier talent with two-time Hart Memorial Trophy Winner (league MVP) Sydney Crosby, two-time Art Ross Trophy winner (league’s leading scorer) Evegeni Malkin, and three-time James Norris Trophy winner (league’s best defenseman) Erik Karlsson. The trophy case for Crosby, Malkin, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust combines to hold 11 Stanley Cup Championship rings.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #92 LOGAN COOLEY - Second-year pro Logan Cooley has 12 points (3G, 9A) in 19 games and is tied for fourth on the team in scoring. Cooley was born in Pittsburgh and learned to play hockey through Sydney Crosby’s Little Penguins youth program.
PITTSBURGH: #87 SYDNEY CROSBY - Crosby leads the Pens with 20 points (7G, 13A) in his 20th NHL season. Tonight is the Pittsburgh captain’s 1295th career NHL game, and he’ll be looking for his 600th NHL goal. Along with various NHL awards, Crosby is also a two-time Olympic Gold medalist with Team Canada, scoring the “Golden Goal” in overtime of the 2010 Winter Olympics to beat Team USA 3-2 and capture a gold medal. Utah Hockey Club draft pick Tij Iginla’s father Jarome Iginla provided Crosby with the primary assist on the play.
LOOK BACK
Utah was shut out for the fifth time this season on Thursday in a 1-0 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka turned in another strong performance with 30 saves on 31 Bruins shots. Utah killed off six of Boston’s seven power plays, but Elias Lindholm knocked in a rebound in the second period to provide the Bruins the only score they needed.
COOLEY RETURNS TO PITTSBURGH
20-year-old Logan Cooley returns to his home town to play an NHL game for the second time in his career, having visited PPG Paints Arena with the Arizona Coyotes last season on Dec. 12. The centerman skated with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite AAA programs from 14U until 16U before leaving home for the US National Team Development Program and then the University of Minnesota. Originally from the West Mifflin neighborhood, southeast of downtown Pittsburgh, Cooley is the highest-drafted player ever from the Steel City. Other Pittsburgh natives in the NHL include the New York Rangers’ Vincent Trochek, St. Louis Blues’ Brandon Saad, Vancouver Canucks’ JT Miller, and the Anaheim Ducks’ John Gibson.
KAREL VEJMELKA
Goaltender Karel Vejmelka has been sturdy to start the season for Utah. The 28-year-old Czechia native boasts a .922 save percentage which ranks eighth in the NHL amongst goaltenders with at least six starts. His 8.4 goals-saved-above-expected ranks fourth in the league. While his record only reads 1-5-0, it’s important to note that Utah has been shut out in three of Vejmelka’s starts and one of his relief appearances.
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
After tonight, Utah travels north of the border to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, Nov. 24 and the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Tomorrow will mark the first time this season in which Utah is playing back-to-back games.
