GamePreview 16x9

WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: Canada Life Centre - Winnipeg, Manitoba

TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL NewsRadio 1160 AM, NHL App

The Utah Hockey Club (5-4-3) squares up with the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets (11-1-0) tonight in downtown Winnipeg. Utah has earned three out of a possible four standings points in its last two games, and Winnipeg is the hottest team in the league to start the season with 22 points.

ONE-TIMERS

  • Utah has played more overtime games than any team this season with six.
  • Utah fell 4-3 in overtime on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.
  • Tonight marks the second straight game that Utah will face one of the top two offenses in the NHL.
  • Captain Clayton Keller has points in four straight games (2G, 2A).
  • Alexander Kerfoot has goals in back-to-back games (2G, 0A).

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

The Jets won their first eight games of the season before falling 6-4 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 28. Winnipeg leads the league in scoring and averages 4.92 goals per game. Special teams fuels the Jets’ attack with a power-play conversion rate of 44.1%- the best in the NHL. If you want to beat Winnipeg, you not only must keep pace with them, but you must find a way to score past goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner as last season’s top NHL goaltender, and his 2.33 goals-against average and .917 save percentage both rank within the league’s top 10 to start this season.

WHO TO WATCH

UTAH: #15 ALEXANDER KERFOOT - Kerfoot has scored his first two goals of the season in Utah’s last two games. His most recent marker tied Saturday’s game against Vegas at 3-3 in the third period and helped Utah secure a point in overtime. Kerfoot has potted double-digit goals in each of his last three seasons.

WINNIPEG: #81 KYLE CONNOR - Connor has points in all 12 games to start the season (9G, 10A) and ranks seventh in league scoring. His nine goals are tied for the fifth most in the NHL.

LOOK BACK

Utah grabbed a point in a 4-3 overtime loss on Saturday against the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights. Logan Cooley scored on Utah’s first shot of the game in the first period, Ian Cole added his first of the year, and Alexander Kerfoot tied the game in the third frame. Brett Howden supplied the game-winner for Vegas in overtime. Goaltender Connor Ingram stopped 31 of 35.

UTA at VGK | Recap

PENALTY KILL

Utah’s penalty kill was a perfect 1-for-1 on Saturday against a Vegas power play that was ranked fourth in the NHL entering the game. Utah’s PK will have to be stalwart once again tonight against a Winnipeg man-advantage that has scored power-play goals in five straight games and is 7-for-15 in that span. Utah’s penalty kill ranks 16th in the league at 79.1% and is 4-for-4 over the last two games.

UP AGAINST THE BEST

Utah is 3-2-1 against teams that reached the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and five of those six games have been decided by one goal. All three of Utah’s overtime wins this season have come against playoff teams from last year (New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins). Winnipeg is Utah’s seventh opponent this season that qualified for the 2024 postseason when the Jets fell in five games to the Colorado Avalanche. Tonight is the second of an eight-game stretch for Utah in which seven of those eight opponents played playoff hockey in 2024.

LOOK AHEAD

Utah’s four-game road trip continues on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues and concludes on Saturday against the Nashville Predators. The Utah Hockey Club returns home on Wednesday, Nov. 13 for a date with the Carolina Hurricanes.