Utah Loses 3-1 In Physical Affair Against Ottawa

In the final game of its three game road trip, Utah (21-21-7) was unable to secure a win against the Ottawa Senators (26-20-4).

Sunday's game was a stark contrast to Utah's first matchup against the Senators. In that game, Ottawa scored all four of its goals in the first period, cruising to a 4-0 victory over Utah.

But while the Senators made Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka work early, Utah wouldn't allow Ottawa a single goal this time around.

Throughout two periods, both teams took turns playing gritty defense, disrupting passes and freely hitting one another. But two Ottawa goals in the third period ultimately proved to be the difference.

The first goal in the third happened after two Utah players mistakenly followed Ottawa's Tim Stutzle.

With both Utah players on him, Stutzle was able to find Claude Giroux for a wide open shot on the goal.

The whole sequence by Ottawa leading up to the goal was impressive. With possession of the puck in its own defensive zone, the Senators were able to make accurate passes to each other all the way down the rink. Even through double teams, Ottawa was able to move the puck efficiently, passing it from one player to the next until they reached the net.

That wouldn't be the only time the Senators offense found success in the third period.

Soon after Utah was able to kill off an Ottawa power play, the Senators would find itself with an odd man rush right in front of Utah's goal.

But Ottawa wouldn't end up needing the extra man after Brady Tkachuk rebounded his own shot into Utah's net for the Senator's third goal of the day.

Once again, the Senators great passing gave itself a great look at the goal. It was once again a pass from Stutzle that set up Ottawa for a goal. Stutzle's pass was perfectly placed, threading the needle through Utah's defense and landing right on Tkachuk's stick.

With that goal, Utah was down 3-1 and running out of time. Even after pulling Vejmelka for an extra attacker, Utah couldn’t find the back of the net for the rest of the game.

Prior to giving up some transition goals to the Senators, Utah's defense had been stellar, especially through the first two periods.

At the start of the game, the Senators were physical and aggressive, out-hitting Utah 12-4. But Utah wasn't fazed by the Senators physicality as it kept Ottawa scoreless in the first, using its own offense early to prevent Ottawa from getting shots on the goal.

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Entering the second, Utah upped its own physicality and made the Senators look visibly uncomfortable as it struggled with Utah's pass breakups. Oftentimes, Utah's forced turnovers even led to shots on goal and continuous offensive pressure.

Along with that, Utah often won its face offs in the second period resulting in quick shots on goal. But despite all the offensive pressure from Utah, Senators goalie Leevi Merilainen stayed strong in a night where he got 34 saves and a .971% save percentage.

In fact, the only goal Merilainen gave up happened after a Clayton Keller pass got blocked by his own teammates into the goal.

The pass from Keller was originally intended for Logan Cooley, but Ottawa's Claude Giroux and Ridly Greig—who had just scored a shorthanded goal minutes earlier—took turns deflecting the puck, eventually sending it backward and directly into the net.

While Utah got lucky on that play, it couldn't channel any more luck the rest of the game.

Though Utah had three power play opportunities, one of which turned into a 4-on-4 after Cooley was called for tripping, it wasn't able to score once on the power play.

Utah also registered 35 shots on goal, eight more than the Senators, but it still didn't translate into more goals.

Despite all the shot attempts and the stifling defense throughout the game, Utah couldn't come up with the big plays needed down the stretch to disrupt Ottawa's rhythm in the third.

With Utah's game against the Senators being the last of its three road games, Utah will have time to rest before it travels back home to play the Pittsburgh Penguins Jan. 29.