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Utah Hockey Club knows something needs ‘to change right now and right away’

The Club lost its fifth straight game on Sunday, falling 2-1 to the St. Louis Blues at Delta Center.

With just over a minute left in the third period, Connor Ingram was pulled from the net.

Utah Hockey Club, which trailed and ultimately lost 2-1 to the St. Louis Blues Sunday at Delta Center, opted for the extra skater to try to tie the game and force overtime.

While John Marino’s shot rang the inside of the crossbar as Utah skated 6-on-5, the team could not find the equalizer.

It’s something it hasn’t been able to do all season.

The Club is the only team in the NHL that has yet to score a goal 6-on-5 through 52 games this year. More than half the league has scored two or more. The San Jose Sharks — who sit dead last in the standings — have scored eight skating 6-on-5, just one behind the league-leading Colorado Avalanche.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club goaltender Connor Ingram (39) guards the goal during the second period of the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.

On the other end of the ice, Utah has allowed 11 goals against — all empty-netters — when playing 6-on-5 in the final minutes of games. They rank 15th in the league in that stat.

Why has it been so hard for the Club to produce when it matters most?

“It’s tough,” said Michael Kesselring, who scored Utah’s lone goal on Sunday. “We just have to get more pucks to the net and bodies and bang away. It’s a tough situation, we have to get out of those situations. We should be tied or winning the game by then.”

Before the matchup against the Blues, head coach André Tourigny talked about playing through pressure in the third period.

“Stress is normal,” Tourigny said. “There will be stress. You need to live with it. That’s being a pro. It’s normal to have stress — you’re human, you care, you want to do good. That’s part of the business. Now you have to get comfortable.”

His team, once again, folded under it.

Utah Hockey Club head coach Andre Tourigny stands behind his bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh. Utah won 6-1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Utah is running out of time to get comfortable with winning tightly contested games. Or simply winning for that matter — Sunday marked the Club’s fifth consecutive loss and third straight on home ice. The team is at least three wins away from securing the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, and that is if everyone else starts losing.

“We’re playing for our playoff lives right now,” Ian Cole said. “We’re judged on whether we win or lose. Obviously, it’s something we need to change right now and right away.”

The Blues took the lead late in the first after controlling play for most of the period. Lawson Crouse attempted to clear the puck but did not put enough on the backhanded effort; Colton Parayko blocked it and pushed it further into the zone.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) brings the puck down the ice during the third period of the game at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.

On the ensuing play, Alexandre Texier was left open in the slot, picked up a behind-the-net pass from Radek Faksa and wired it past Ingram for the 1-0 advantage at 17:41.

Utah did not allow a goal against in the middle frame but it had limited pushback. It was not until the third period that the Club showed a sign of life, supplied by Kesselring.

Kevin Stenlund won the faceoff and the puck spit out to Nick Bjugstad, who chipped it up to Kesselring at the right point. The defenseman blasted it in for the 1-1 equalizer at 3:27 and his sixth goal of the season. Kesselring is second in points for all of Utah’s blueliners behind Mikhail Sergachev.

“It was nice to get one there. I felt like I could’ve impacted the two goals against a little more so it still stings a little bit,” Kesselring said. “Obviously it’s a tough part of the year but you have to be ready to play. It’s the NHL.”

St. Louis struck back under four minutes later. Jordan Kyrou made it 2-1 on a play that mirrored his team’s first goal of the night — missed coverage by Utah in front and a quick shot between the legs of Ingram. This time, it was Robert Thomas who dished the puck from behind the net to Kyrou to slap home at 7:13. It turned out to be the game-winner.

Interference from Ryan Suter and a tripping call against Mathieu Joseph gave the Club two power-play opportunities in the third period to tie the game, but it could not convert on either. While the first unit has scored in three of the last five games, the second unit has not converted since Nov. 23.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole (28) warms up with the team before the start of their game agains the New York Rangers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.

“I didn’t like our energy. I didn’t like our urgency in that game,” Tourigny said. “Credit to St. Louis, they played much better than the last two times we played them — way more stingy. Took way too long for us to accept that and go to work.”

Utah has one game left at Delta Center — Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers — before its three-game road trip which leads into the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

The clock is ticking for this team to turn it around.

“Listen, we’ve had a lot of meetings about this and had a lot of talk and I think that everyone has said just about all that can be said,” Cole said. “At some point, it needs to get put into practice on the ice.”