Matias Maccelli's Two Goals Not Enough As Utah Losses In OT 3-2 Against Dallas

In its third matchup against the Dallas Stars (24-13-1), Utah Hockey Club (17-15-7) loss for the third time this season against Dallas 3-2 in overtime.

With Utah's Matias Maccelli returning back to action after being out with an illness, he was able to have his first goal since Nov. 7 as well as his first multi-goal game since Oct. 28.

With the game going to overtime, Utah was unable to take advantage after winning the face off as its captain Clayton Keller was unable to score.

Another opportunity would come as Utah's Logan Cooley, who had a franchise-record road point streak of 12 entering in, was also unable to capitalize on his shot attempt. Without a point in this game, Cooley's streak officially ended.

Utah's Logan Crouse would get Utah's last chance in overtime as he took a shot on a 3-on-1 rush, but Dallas's goalie Jake Oettinger saved it and managed to pass it out to center line.

With possession of the puck near Utah's net, Dallas played patiently and wouldn't allow Utah a chance to sub some fresh bodes on the ice.

After getting its own subs in, Dallas would get the game winning goal moments later.

Dallas's Matt Duchene's original shot was saved by Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka, but he would still manage to get the rebound and pass it to teammate Thomas Harley. With no Utah defenders on him, he would take advantage as he would sneak it right in between Vejmelka and Maccelli.

Without a chance to sub, Utah had players with ice times longer than it would have liked.

It was a hard fought affair throughout the whole game, but Dallas ended up doing just enough in the last moment.

In its previous two matchups against Dallas, Utah saw itself in a different position as it was playing from behind in both games by two goals.

That wasn't the case this time as Utah managed to respond each time Dallas got a lead.

In only 16 seconds, Dallas was scoring first after a behind the net pass from Dallas's Wyatt Johnston went straight to Jamie Benn for a wide open shot.

With the -15 goals disparity for Utah, allowing a goal in the second period looked to be the start of a disaster.

But rather than panic, Utah responded quick after some great passing allowed for Macceli to score Utah's first goal

Despite having a numbers advantage, Dallas was unable to prevent Utah from scoring as it forgot to cover Maccelli.

As Dallas converged to try and stop Crouse from getting a shot, Star's player Nils Lundkvist rotated to cover Crouse and left Maccelli uncovered. With Crouse passing in between Lundkvist's legs, Maccelli took advantage of the wide open shot.

Later in the second period, Dallas would score its second goal after Utah's Vladislav Kolyachonok opted to try clearing the puck instead of letting Vejmelka pick it up.

Clearing it backfired as Dallas's Oskar Back recovered the puck and immediately shot it in as Dallas went up 2-1. With Dallas's Arttu Hyry credited with an assist on the play, he got his first point in his professional career.

But Utah would respond for a second time as Maccelli got his second goal of the night.

After managing to get the puck into Utah's offensive zone, Maccelli waited patiently after passing the puck behind the net to teammate Alexander Kerfoot. As Kerfoot positioned himself for a shot, Dallas's Oettinger pushed forward in an attempt to save it.

Instead, Kerfoot passed it to Maccelli who got the goal after his 360 spin shot went in. With the game tied again, Utah and Dallas wouldn't score for the remainder of regulation and go into overtime.

While this game ended up being a loss for Utah, there was a lot to be encouraged by.

The first and third periods showcased Utah disrupting a lot of shots that Dallas had whether it was with its 3 takeaways or its 19 blocked shots. Utah would also make Dallas have to adjust the puck at inconvenient times to maintain possession.

With its previous games against the Stars, Utah often didn't have control of the game and would let Dallas largely do what it wanted on both defense and offense.

However in this game, Utah often created offensive opportunities and had put much more pressure on both Dallas's defense and Oettinger to stay strong.

Related: What Can Utah HC Do To Get Its First Win Against The Dallas Stars?

Despite all that though, Utah ended up not being able to get the win in overtime.

With this game being the last one of its road trip, Utah will travel back home for a season long 7 game home stretch.

It next will play the Florida Panthers (24-14-2) in its first matchup of the season.

What do you think of Utah's play in this game? Will it be able to be Dallas in its final matchup of the season or was this the best Utah could do? Let me know down below!