Utah HC Loses 5-2 In Hard Fought Game Against Winnipeg

For the second time this week, Utah HC (21-20-7) faced off against the Winnipeg Jets (33-14-3), but this time, the Jets came out with a 5-2 win to redeem its 5-2 loss it suffered Monday against Utah.

The game score may indicate that this was an easy win for Winnipeg, but it was a hard fought game up until the very end.

After a perfect pass from Vladislav Namestnikov sneaked past Utah's defenseman to set up Cole Perfetti for a wide open goal, Utah would be down 3-2 midway through the third period.

Despite being down late to one of the best teams in NHL, Utah showed no panic. In fact, Utah almost tied the game up after a Jets turnover gave Utah the puck deep in Winnipeg's defensive zone.

With the newfound opportunity, Utah was able to get a shot on goal with Nick Bjugstad's wrist shot. But ultimately, the shot would ding off the crossbar and Winnipeg retained its lead.

That shot proved to be the closest Utah would get to tying the game, as a turnover by Michael Kesselring soon after led to a Nikolaj Ehlers goal, putting Winnipeg up 4-2 and giving the Jets the lead for good.

Related: Clayton Keller's Return Sparks 4 Unanswered Goals In 5-2 Win Over Winnipeg Jets

While Utah kept fighting to cut the lead, a goal by Perfetti—which gave him his first career hat trick—put Winnipeg up 5-2 and sealed the loss for Utah.

Though the game ended in a loss, Utah can take solace in the fact that it played hard against the top Western Conference team despite it being the second game of a back-to-back series.

Earlier in the game, things were much more back-and-forth, as Utah and Winnipeg traded goals throughout.

Heading into the third period down 2-1, it took only a 1:19 for Utah's Barrett Hayton to tie the game at 2-2.

At first, it looked as though John Marino was gearing up for a shot because there were no Winnipeg defensemen nearby to help Connor Hellebuyck contest it. Instead, Marino opted to pass back to a wide-open Hayton, who had much more space to work with.

Marino's unselfish play proved to work out in Utah's favor because Hayton ended up getting a clearer shot on the goal that went into the top right corner of the net.

With Hayton scoring three goals in Utah's previous two games, Marino's decision to give the red-hot Hayton the puck kept the game close for Utah late."

It was a strong response from Utah, considering it had just given up a goal after Connor Ingram anticipated a pass from Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo would go behind the net. Instead, the puck deflected off the glass right in front of an empty goal, allowing David Gustafsson to score his first goal of the season.

That wasn't the only time Utah responded to a Winnipeg goal this game.

Late in the first period, Maccelli was caught holding after winning a face off. As a result, Utah went down 1-0 after giving up a power-play goal to Winnipeg, who has a league-best 31.9% conversion rate on the power play.

Though it would have been easy to lose focus after committing such an avoidable mistake, Utah kept playing tough defense and patiently waited for an opportunity on offense.

Shortly after, Winnipeg would be called for a slashing penalty that would give Utah a power play and the opportunity it had been waiting for.

After a deflected Utah pass ended up in Logan Cooley's possession, Cooley passed it to Clayton Keller causing Winnipeg's defense to collapse near the front of the goal.

Recognizing the space behind him and the fact that only three Jets players were left to defend the goal—thanks to a Jets player getting a new stick from the bench—Keller passed it to a wide-open Kesselring who took a shot. In the end, Kesselring's shot deflected off Nick Schmaltz's stick and slipped through Hellebuyck's legs to give Utah its first goal of the night.

But in the end, Winnipeg was able to win the game as it kept capitalizing on the few mistakes Utah had this game.

Utah will have one last road game against the Ottawa Senators before it returns back home. The game will be on Jan. 26.

Last Notes:

In the second period, Utah caught a break after a referee called the play dead after it looked as though Ingram covered the puck on a Winnipeg goal shot. But soon after the whistle blew, the puck came out and went to a Jets player who scored the goal. While the play was already dead, Winnipeg fans still took issue with the call and booed.

Utah has been one of the best at penalty kills lately with a 60-67 mark in its last 24 games. However, in this game, it allowed Winnipeg to score on its only power play opportunity.

Entering tonight, Utah held a 9-2-1 road record since Nov. 26, the best point percentage in the league.

What do you think Utah needs to do to win back-to-back games in the future? Let me know down below!