All four forward lines score in first game of critical, two-game road trip

Utah GM Bill Armstrong told his troops this week that they had earned the right to stay together. In the next breath, he handed out four contract extensions to walk the talk.

His team repaid him with a gutsy 4-2 win in Detroit on the day before the NHL trade deadline.

Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka was the story of the game on Thursday, stopping 38 shots to earn his fifth win in his past six outings.

Dylan Guenther, Nick Schmaltz, Kevin Stenlund and Lawson Crouse scored, the penalty kill was a perfect three-for-three against the NHL’s second-ranked power play unit, and Utah crept a little closer to the final wild card spot in the Western Conference with a win against a team that is trying to claim its own wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Utah rallied from a 2-1 deficit despite being outshot 40-19. Utah has won three of its past four games, four of its past six, and seven of its past 10.

“We had a kind of slow start today, but after the first period, we played a pretty good second and even better in the third,” Vejmelka said. “It’s a big team win tonight.”

Playoff watch: The only other team of note in the race for the Western Conference’s final wild card spot that was in action on Thursday was the Calgary Flames. They lost, 3-2, in overtime in Dallas on Thursday. Overall, Utah drew within a point of the St. Louis Blues with a game in hand, within two points of the Vancouver Canucks, and within three points of the Flames, who hold the final wild card slot.

Extension energized: Utah signed four players to contract extensions this week: forward Alex Kerfoot, defensemen Olli Määttä, Ian Cole and Vejmelka. They all seemed energized by the security in Thursday’s game.

Kerfoot set up Dylan Guenther’s first period goal with a terrific backhand pass. Määttä logged 18:20 of ice time, he was a plus-1, and he drew a game-clinching penalty on Patrick Kane late in the game. Cole logged 21:32 of ice time and recorded a goal-saving blocked shot late in the game.

And then there was Vejmelka.

Utah’s starter, who just agreed to a five-year extension on Wednesday, made 38 saves to mark his highest save total in a road game this season. Two saves in particular stood out.

Vejmelka’s right pad/toe save on Red Wings center Dylan Larkin with just over a minute remaining in the first period was a possible game-changer with Utah already trailing 2-1. So was his point-blank glove save on forward Alex DeBrincat, moving left to right, with just over a minute left in the second period and the game tied, 2-2.

“We got an elite performance from Veggie,” Utah coach André Tourigny said. “We demanded a lot from him tonight. I want to help him a little better, but you know what? That’s what a team is. When you stick together, sometimes it’s one guy, another night it’s another guy.

“He was really, really good, tuned in, made key saves at key moments.”

Bjugdstad injured: Utah center Nick Bjugstad missed the game with an upper-body injury that landed him on injured reserve. The IR stint is retroactive to Utah’s last game on March 1 which means he is eligible to play in the team’s home game against Toronto on Monday.

Players who are placed on IR must miss at least seven days.

Quotable: “We had one period to go out there and win an important hockey game and that’s what we did,” said associate captain Lawson Crouse of his team’s two-goal third period. “It shows a lot of courage from our team. There’s definitely things we need to improve on, but getting a win like that feels good.”

Up next: Utah travels to Chicago for the only time this season to face the Blackhawks on Friday. Utah leads the season series, 2-0. In the first game in Utah Hockey Club history, Dylan Guenther had two goals, Connor Ingram made 24 saves and Utah beat the Blackhawks, 5-2 at Delta Center on Oct. 8. Utah won the second meeting at Delta Center on Feb. 25 when Crouse scored the game-winning goal on a backhander with 7:48 left in a 2-1 victory.