WHEN: 6:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Climate Pledge Arena - Seattle, Washington
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (16-13-6) begins a four-game road trip tonight in the Pacific Northwest against the Seattle Kraken (16-19-2) at Climate Pledge Arena. Utah has won seven straight road games and can pull within one point of a playoff position in the Western Conference with a win. Tonight’s matchup is the first of a back-to-back for Utah, with a game against the Edmonton Oilers coming on New Year’s Eve.
ONE-TIMERS
- Utah is 6-3-2 in the month of December.
- Dylan Guenther leads the team with seven power-play goals.
- Utah has 10 power-play goals in its last nine games.
- Utah’s road power play ranks eighth in the NHL (25.9%) while the team’s road penalty kill ranks fifth (83.8%).
- Dylan Guenther (16G, 16A) and Logan Cooley (8G, 23A) are two of only three NHL skaters aged 21 or younger with at least 30 points in 2024-25.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Seattle bounces into tonight after a thrilling come-from-behind win against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday in which the Kraken erased a three-goal deficit in the third period and then won the game in overtime. It was just the third time in NHL history that a team erased a three-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation and came back to win. Prior to Saturday’s thriller, the Kraken had lost five straight in regulation and had fallen to sixth in the Pacific Division standings. Seattle is without one of its leading scorers and captain in Jordan Eberle for the next several weeks due to injury. Offseason addition Brandon Montour is off to an excellent start with his new club and is tied for fourth amongst NHL defensemen with eight goals. Jared McCann leads the Kraken with 27 points (12G, 15A) in 37 games
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #22 JACK MCBAIN - McBain, 24, has played extremely well on Utah’s second line alongside Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley this season. The 6-foot-4 winger is on pace for a career year with nine goals already, surpassing the eight he scored last season with the Arizona Coyotes. Seven of McBain’s nine tallies have come on the road this season.
SEATTLE: #29 VINCE DUNN - Dunn is a dangerous, puck-moving defenseman for the Kraken, and he led his team to victory on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks with two goals and an assist, including the overtime winner. The former Stanley Cup Champion with the St. Louis Blues ranks third amongst all Seattle defensemen with 14 points (7G, 7A) and is tied for seventh in the NHL amongst blueliners with seven goals.
LOOK BACK
Utah came up short against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday at Delta Center in a 4-1 final. The game was played much closer than the final score would indicate, as the Avs hit two empty-netters at the end to seal the contest. Artturi Lehkonen recorded his first career hat trick with three goals for Colorado, including the game-winner with just over five minutes left in the third period. Nick Schmaltz provided the only Utah goal earlier in the third by redirecting Mikahil Sergachev’s shot into the net on the power play. Goaltending was one of the major stories of the night, as both Utah’s Karel Vejmelka and Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood were splendid in net. Blackwood earned the win with 34 saves on 35 shots, and Vejmelka stopped 33 of 35 in the loss. The game concluded the season series between Utah and Colorado with Utah winning one of three.
SEVEN STRAIGHT ROAD WINS
Beginning on Nov. 26 with an overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens, Utah has won seven straight road games entering tonight. The club has outscored its opponents 28-11 over the win streak for an average of 4.00 goals for and 1.57 goals against. Over the last seven road games, Utah’s power play is 6-for-21 (28.6%) and the penalty kill is 22-for-23 (95.7%). Overall, Utah is 11-6-2 on the road and has the seventh most road wins in the NHL. Dylan Guenther leads the team with 22 points (12G, 10A) in 19 road games this season.
KAREL VEJMELKA
Karel Vejmelka, or “Veggie”, has emerged as one of the NHL’s top-performing goaltenders over the last month-and-a-half. Amongst NHL goaltenders who have played in at least 10 games, Vejmelka has the fifth-best goals-against average (2.32) and the fourth-best save percentage (.918). The 28-year-old Czech has allowed more than three goals only three times in his last 19 appearances, and he has held the opposition to three or less in six straight starts. He has allowed more than three goals in regulation only once all season. Vejmelka’s .839 save percentage on high-danger shots is fourth-best in the league, according to NHL Edge. It is the netminder’s fourth NHL season after playing professionally in the Czech Republic.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah rings in the New Year with a tilt against the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night at Rogers Place with puckdrop at 7 p.m. MT. The 2025 calendar opens up with matchups against the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars on Jan. 2 and Jan. 4.
