Utah’s penalty kill delivered in the first period, killing off both penalties. During the first penalty, Utah limited Chicago’s ability to set up in the o-zone and when the Blackhawks had chances, Utah’s goaltender Karel Vejmelka delivered. During the second penalty, Chicago’s power play set up and held the zone early; however, the penalty kill showed up once again as did Utah’s netminder.
Both teams made up for the lack of scoring in the first period with five total goals in the second period.
Just over a minute into the second period, Jack McBain’s chance was stopped by Chicago’s goaltender Arvid Soderblom. The rebound bounced to Lawson Crouse, who got his shot past Soderblom but hit the post.
Eight and a half minutes into the second period, Nick DeSimone’s shot soared past Soderblom and gave Utah a 1-0 lead. DeSimone’s goal was his first this season. Alexander Kerfoot and Kevin Stenlund picked up assists on the tally. A minute later, on the other end of the ice, Vejmelka stopped Frank Nazar on a breakaway chance, keeping Utah’s lead.
With nine minutes left in the second period, Chicago raced up ice on a 3-on-2. Artyom Levshunov passed to an open Joe Veleno and the forward tied the game, 1-1. Four minutes later, Ryan Donato jumped on a rebound and shot it past a sprawled Vejmelka to give the home team a 2-1 lead. Vejmelka had made two initial saves before Chicago’s leading scorer contributed his 29th of the season.
Utah’s urgency increased following Chicago’s second goal. With three bodies down low creating chaos, Mikhail Sergachev’s shot got through traffic and found the back of the net, tying the game, 2-2. 31 seconds later, Sergachev’s shot hit Alexander Kerfoot net front, and the visiting team reclaimed their lead, this time 3-2.
“We’ve talked a lot about how you score goals in this league and the majority of goals are plays in and around the net,” Kerfoot shared post-game. “Low to high, point shots, deflections, rebounds, that accounts for a lot of the 5-on-5 goals so that’s always a point of emphasis. We did a better job of that tonight.”
“I saw character from those moments,” Tourigny explained about Utah’s increased urgency. “You need all your team to bounce back in a way. (Stenlund’s) line and (McBain’s) line came up big.”
As tensions rose in the second period, Jack McBain and Patrick Maroon dropped the gloves in the final minute of the middle frame. Maroon received a fight major and an unsportsmanlike conduct minor while McBain was assessed a minor penalty.
“He’s going to step up and he’s going to do that,” Kerfoot said on McBain. “He’s not afraid of anyone so that was impressive.”
“The fight is something, but the hit before he answered the bell,” Tourigny explained about McBain. “He has that (aggressiveness) and that look in his eyes. He drags us into the fight every night. He’s never taken a night off. He’s a good example of team.”
Halfway through the final frame, Kailer Yamamoto increased Utah’s lead to 4-2, capitalizing on the rebound of Kerfoot’s initial shot. The goal was Yamamoto’s first with Utah. Two minutes later, Logan Cooley’s 22nd of the season put the visiting team up 5-2. Cooley turned and shot quickly after Clayton Keller found the forward with just seven minutes left in regulation.
Despite taking a penalty with four minutes left, Utah stayed strong and killed off its fourth and final penalty. With ten different players on the scoresheet, and goals from five different players, Utah finished the road trip with a strong 5-2 win.
“It’s a good one, huge,” Yamamoto said about the momentum swing of Sunday's win. “Being able to come off a road trip with a win I think that brings a lot of confidence back home.”
Additional Notes from Today’s Game
Karel Vejmelka got the start in net for the 17th straight game. Currently the netminder has his career-best save percentage (.904) and goals against average (2.59) despite a heavy workload. This starting streak is the longest in the NHL this season and the longest since Jacob Markstrom’s 15 straight games for Calgary during the 2021-22 season.
He’s playing great,” Kerfoot shared on Vejmelka. “He’s just relished the opportunity, he’s taken advantage of the runway that he’s had, and he’s kept us in a lot of games, won a lot of games for us. It’s no easy task going out there every night but he’s been able to show up for us and found ways to get us wins.”
Olli Määttä missed Sunday’s game with a lower-body injury. He is day to day and sustained this injury Friday against the Florida Panthers.
In Määttä’s absence, Nick DeSimone returned to the lineup for his first game since Feb. 9, in Washington D.C. DeSimone played 17:02 and scored the game’s opening goal. He had three shots, three blocks, and two hits.
There were plenty of milestones hit in today’s game. Logan Cooley set a new career-high with 22 goals this season. Mikhail Sergachev scored his 14th goal of the season, a new career-high. Speaking of that goal, both John Marino and Lawson Crouse recorded their 100th career assist on the second period tally. Last, but certainly not least, Ian Cole played in his 900th career NHL game against the Blackhawks.
What's Next?
Utah returns home for a five-game homestand to wrap up the team's regular season slate at Delta Center. Up first, the Calgary Flames Tuesday night. Tickets are still available here!
