Game Preview, 4/12: Utah Hockey Club vs. Dallas Stars | Utah Hockey Club

WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: American Airlines Center – Dallas, Texas

TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, NHL App

The Utah Hockey Club (36-30-13) matches up with the Dallas Stars (50-23-6) tonight at American Airlines Center in the Lone Star State. Tonight is the first of Utah’s final three-game road trip to conclude the 2024-25 regular season. The Mountain Blue is looking for its first win of the year against Dallas. Both of Utah’s losses to the Stars have been by a narrow 3-2 margin.

ONE-TIMERS

• Clayton Keller is two points away from passing the career high (86) he set in 2022-23.
• Jack McBain has a career best 13 goals this season.
• Ian Cole leads the NHL with 205 blocked shots this season.
• Utah is 18-15-5 on the road.
• Three of the six teams in the NHL with 100 points are in the Central Division.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

Despite four consecutive losses, Dallas has been one of the NHL’s best squads all season. The Stars rank fourth in the league offensively with 3.38 goals per game and third defensively with 2.61 goals against per contest. After a 4-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, the Stars are almost cemented into second place in the Central Division and will likely face the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The last four games for the Stars have constituted their first and only four-game losing streak this season. Dallas has given up an uncharacteristic 18 goals over those four losses- the most they’ve given up in a four-game span this season. The recent downturn for the Stars comes after a seven-game win streak from Mar. 22 to Apr. 3.

Dallas is spearheaded by Matt Duchene and his team-best 81 points (30G, 51A). Jason Robertson leads the club with 34 goals and has two hat tricks since the 4 Nations Face-off.

WHO TO WATCH

UTAH: #17 NICK BJUGSTAD – After leading off the scoring on Thursday against Nashville, Nick Bjugstad has two goals in his last three games and is now up to seven for the season.

DALLAS: #53 WYATT JOHNSTON – In March, Johnston was one of the hottest players in the NHL. The 21-year-old scored goals in six straight games from Mar. 24 to Apr. 3 and now is up to 31 on the campaign.

LOOK BACK

Utah closed its 2024-25 home schedule with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at Delta Center. The Mountain Blue finished with an 18-15-5 home record and points in 12 of its last 15 in Salt Lake City.

Nick Bjugstad and Josh Doan led off the scoring for Utah in the second period to put the hosts up 2-0. Nashville then tied the game at 2-2 with power-play goals from Nick Blakenburg late in the second and from Filip Forsberg 1:19 into the third. Ryan O’Reilly stashed a rebound for the Preds just 1:58 after Forsberg’s goal to give Nashville their first lead of the game.

Dylan Guenther scored his 27th goal of the season at the 5:42 mark of the third frame to knot things up at 3-3, but Utah fell in the shootout after Forsberg scored the only goal of the skills competition.

LAST MEETING

Utah earned a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Jan. 4 at American Airlines Center. After a scoreless first, the two teams erupted for a four-goal second period, including a goal from Dallas’ Jamie Benn just 16 seconds into the frame.

Utah’s Matias Maccelli responded 1:14 later with his first of two goals on the night. Maccelli’s second came three minutes after Oskar Bäck gave the Stars a 2-1 lead. After a scoreless third, Thomas Harley banged in the overtime-winner to conclude the contest. Utah outshot Dallas 33-29 in the loss.

UTAH ANNOUNCES 2024-25 HONORS

The Utah Hockey Club announced its 2024-25 honorees after Thursday’s game against Nashville at Delta Center. Below are the recipients of the team awards who were recognized for their contributions on and off the ice during this NHL season.

• Team MVP – Goaltender Karel Vejmelka: Vejmelka was selected by his teammates as the player with the most valuable contributions to the team’s success. He has had a career-best season, posting a 25-21-8 record with a 2.51 goals-against average (GAA), .906 save percentage (SV%) percentage (SV%) to win Team MVP as voted on by the players. The 28-year-old goaltender has established career highs in games played (58), starts (53), wins (25), GAA (2.51) and SV% (.906). Vejmelka has also posted a 12-6-4 record in 22 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 23, marking the longest streak of starts by any NHL goaltender since 2018-19.

• Three Stars Award – Forward Dylan Guenther: Guenther was recognized with the Three Stars Award for receiving the most postgame star honors throughout the season. He has been selected as one of the Three Stars16 times this season, with nine First Star recognitions. The 22-year-old forward was named First Star in each of Utah’s first two games (Oct. 8-10) and also earned three First Star selections in a six-game span from Feb. 4-23, with game-winning goals in all three contests. Guenther ranks tied for the team lead in goals (27), fourth in points (57) and first in power-play goals (12) this season. He also sits tied for third in the NHL in game-winning goals (9) and tied for sixth in overtime goals (3), and his 15 total go-ahead tallies are tied for the fifth-most of any NHL skater in 2024-25.

• Leading Scorer Award – Forward Clayton Keller: In recognition of finishing the season with the team’s highest point total, earning 27-58-85 in 78 games, Keller received the Leading Scorer Award. Utah’s first-ever captain ranks top-15 in the NHL in both assists and points, and he needs just two points over the final four games to set a new single-season career-high scoring total. Keller has already established new career highs in power-play assists (26) and power-play points (35) this season, and he leads the league with 8-22-30 on the man-advantage since Dec. 8. The 26-year-old forward has been held without a point in back-to-back games just once this season, and he posted the only five-point game (1-4-5) in franchise history against Minnesota on Feb. 27.

• Community-Obsessed Award – Forward Alexander Kerfoot: Selected as the player who is most active in the community, Kerfoot focused heavily on growing the game of hockey in the area by offering unique access and experiences to the sport, especially for young girl hockey players. Also the Club’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominee, Kerfoot has touched many aspiring players throughout the inaugural 2024-25 season by providing tickets and experiences, as well as community appearances for teams and organizations such as Ogden Lady Mustangs, Utah Olympic Oval Wildcats, Lady Grizzlies, Primary Children’s Hospital, Make-A-Wish, Granite Education Foundation, Utah Hockey Club Learn to Play and Utah Hockey Club Youth.

• All-In Award – Forward Barrett Hayton: Hayton has been selected by the fans as the first-ever winner of the All-In Award, given to the player who leaves it all on the ice, from the opening puck drop to the final buzzer. One of only six skaters to appear in all 79 games for Utah this season, the 24-year-old forward has matched his career highs in goals, assists and points while setting new career-best marks in power-play goals (6), power-play points (12) and game-winning goals (7). Hayton sits second on the team with a career-high 53.8% faceoff win percentage and ranks tied for sixth among Utah forwards in blocked shots (42). He also scored the first hat trick in franchise history at Los Angeles on Feb. 22.

LOOK AHEAD

Utah continues its final road trip of the season on Monday against the Nashville Predators. Utah’s final game of the 2024-25 regular season comes on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.