Utah Hockey Club management drew some criticism for signing Dylan Guenther to a long-term extension before playing a full NHL season. But those critics might eat their words as early as this season.
It’s probably still too early to form opinions, but Guenther scored twice again in Utah HC’s 5-4 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Thursday evening. It was his second two-goal game in as many games.
In Utah’s first-ever road game, Maxim Tsyplakov scored with 2:07 left in regulation to put the Islanders ahead by a goal. However, Josh Doan tied the game 13 seconds later on a partial breakaway, sending the game to overtime.
Guenther, 21, who is under contract for nine years, scored the overtime winner.
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“All three of us were in (the offensive zone) so if we didn’t score, it probably would have been a breakaway the other way,” Guenther said of the goal after the game.
Utah leaves UBS Arena with two points, starting the season 2-0.
How this works
This is a three-part article geared toward three different audiences.
First, we’ll have “Utah Hockey for dummies” for all you new hockey fans. Welcome, by the way — we’re glad you’ve taken an interest in the greatest sport in the world.
Next, we’ll have a section titled “Utah Hockey for casual fans,” aimed at those who have a base understanding of the sport.
Finally, we’ll have “Utah Hockey for nerds.” That will be for those of you who, like me, think about nothing but hockey all day, every day.
Feedback is welcome, so let me know what you think in the comments of this article or the comments section on “X.”
Utah Hockey for dummies
If this was your first hockey game, you probably think hockey is the greatest sport in the world. It was a nail-biter all the way until the end, and no matter which team you root for, you were entertained the whole time.
Not every game has this much drama, but the speed, physicality and excitement are always the same at the NHL level. Stick around. It only gets better.
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Utah HC is now 2-0-0 in the regular season, but their upcoming games against the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils will be good tests. Head coach André Tourigny called the Rangers “elite.”
New York Islanders’ Ryan Pulock (6) defends Utah Hockey Club’s Sean Durzi (50) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
New York Islanders’ Anthony Duclair (11) and Mike Reilly (2) defend Utah Hockey Club’s Michael Carcone (53) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club’s Jack McBain (22) passes away from New York Islanders’ Alexander Romanov during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club goaltender Connor Ingram (39) stops a shot by New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson (29) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson (29) fights for control of the puck with Utah Hockey Club’s Josh Doan (91) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club’s Jack McBain (22) fights for control of the puck with New York Islanders’ Maxim Tsyplakov (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther (11) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther (11) celebrates after scoring the game winning goal during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) protects the net during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) leaves the ice as the Utah Hockey Club celebrate after an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
The Utah Hockey Club celebrates a goal by Logan Cooley during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club goaltender Connor Ingram (39) stops a shot by New York Islanders’ Anthony Duclair (11) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey for casual fans
Goalie Connor Ingram told me five days ago that he loves to be a boring goalie. With the amount of times I said “How did that stay out?” during this game, I have to disagree.
Being “boring” is a good thing for goalies because if you’re always in position, you rarely have to make desperate or flashy saves. It’s what made Carey Price as good as he was. But who doesn’t love a good flash of the leather?
In the first period, after a weird bounce behind the net, Ingram found himself way out of position with the puck on an Islander stick. He dove and blocked it in mid-air, bringing the crowd to its feet and immediately back to its seats.
“It is the most lonely feeling in the world being behind the net, looking through the net and seeing the wide open net,” he said. “There’s nothing you can say about it. It’s just pure desperation.”
A period later, he denied an Islander on the doorstep with a sliding pad save.
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“Sometimes you’ve just gotta be an athlete,” he said.
Utah Hockey for nerds
The hockey die-hards appreciate a solid defensive play just as much as a fancy goal. “Solid” would describe Utah HC’s defensive game on Thursday — especially on the penalty kill.
Utah HC took six penalties and killed five of them.
“I think our PK was probably the best part of our game,” Tourigny said after the game. “A lot of the guys who played PK, they came out big. They made big plays.”
On Thursday, Utah did all the little things right: blocking shots and passing lanes, playing hard in the corners and backchecking and forechecking as if its season depended on it.
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Tourigny specifically shouted out Mikhail Sergachev, Ian Cole and Michael Kesselring for doing the little things right, but he emphasized that there are many more players that did virtually everything right.
What’s next?
Utah HC plays its third and final home opener of the year on Saturday as they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers are expected to be Stanley Cup contenders this year.
Interesting fact: It will be color commentator Dominic Moore’s first time ever calling a game at MSG, where he played five seasons for the Rangers.
What’s Tourigny’s key focus for the upcoming game?
“Rest for now,” he said.
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On Monday, Utah HC visits the New Jersey Devils, followed by the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday to round out the road trip.
Saturday’s game is at 5 p.m. MDT, Monday’s is at 11 a.m. and Wednesday’s is at 8 p.m. All three games will be available on Utah HC+ and Utah 16.
Utah’s power play went 2-for-4, and it was the first time the Mammoth have scored two power play goals in a game since the last time they played the Capitals (Mar. 3, at Washington). Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley each capitalized on the man-advantage in the first period. Cooley was added to the top unit with Barrett Hayton out of the lineup (week-to-week, upper-body injury), and he shared what was working for the top unit.
“Just trying to establish a shot,” Cooley explained. “Trying to build off that and then things start to open up. We have a lot of great players on that unit that can make a lot of plays, and I think when we establish a shot first (mentality) that’s when we’re going to get our opportunities, and find seams and different rebounds like that.”
“They were rolling,” Tourigny said of the power play. “The way they were attacking, the way they were direct, they were really aggressive. They were intentional, their aggressiveness, that paid off.”
In addition to his power play goal, Guenther also scored three minutes and 55 seconds later. The forward has six multi-goal efforts this season and he set a new career-high in points (61). This is his second consecutive season with 60 or more points. Guenther has been a consistent scorer for the Mammoth as he has nine goals in the month of March and has scored eight of those in the last 11 games. He trails on Boston’s Pavel Zacha (9) for the league lead in that span.
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MacKenzie Weegar scored his first goal as a member of the Mammoth in the third period. He’s contributed a point in two-straight games and has grown his role with Utah. In addition to playing alongside alternate captain Mikhail Sergachev on the top d-pairing, Weegar contributes to both sides of special teams.
It’s a close playoff race in the Western Conference and Utah is still in the first wildcard spot. However, the Mammoth will need to raise their game, keep a high level of intensity, and manage their emotions in the final nine games of the regular season. Utah’s next game is a tough test against the Los Angeles Kings on the road.
“Everyone’s gotta look in the mirror, we all got better and we all know that,” Keller said. “Still super confident with our group. This is the most exciting part of the year and the most exciting hockey. We’re all positive, and we’ll learn from it and go to L.A..”
“Yeah, I think we started out good,” Cooley reflected. “Special teams were good. I thought the first period, we were moving it well. I think we kind of just started to let it slip, give up some odd-man rushes, and they capitalized. Every game is so important right now, and it stings. It’s two points that we probably should have had, especially early on with the way we were playing. We got to make sure that we are ready for a heck of a battle with L.A.”
Additional Notes from Tonight (per Mammoth PR)
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Sergachev registered three assists in the first period marking the first three-assist frame of his NHL career. This also marked his second career three-point period, both of which have come against Washington, as well as his fourth three-point game this season.
Alexander Kerfoot posted an assist on Weegar’s third-period goal, marking his 300th career NHL point. He is the 16th player from his draft class to reach that milestone. He joins Sergachev as the second skater to accomplish the feat with Utah.
Keller posted three primary assists tonight for his eighth three-point game, third three-assist game, 23rd multi-point game, and 13th multi-assist game in 2025-26, all of which are team highs. The Captain has seven points over his last six games (3G, 4A).
Utah’s captain has tallied at least 70 points for the fourth consecutive season and he became the 12th NHL player to accomplish this feat over that stretch. According to NHL PR, Keller is the fifth player in NHL history to eclipse the 70-point mark in each of a franchise’s first two seasons.
Media Contacts: Louisa Tavlas ltavlas@niskanencenter.org
Arnold Ventures media@arnoldventures.org
Olin: Legislators, Cox, “providing law enforcement with additional resources to improve investigative outcomes” and keep Utah safe.
Washington, DC (March 26, 2026) — The Niskanen Center and Arnold Ventures applaud the Utah State Legislature and Governor Spencer Cox for passing new, bipartisan legislation designed to solve more crimes and provide support for crime victims. The bill, H.B. 137, passed both the Utah House of Representatives and the Utah Senate by wide, bipartisan margins and was signed into law by the Governor today.
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“Making Utah as safe as possible requires ensuring law enforcement has every available resource to identify and arrest every criminal who preys upon innocent citizens,” said Jason Olin, senior government affairs manager for criminal justice at the Niskanen Center. “HB 137 establishes a Violent Crime Clearance Rate Fund that will provide law enforcement with additional resources to improve investigative outcomes. We thank Rep. Clancy and Sen. McKell for their leadership on this critical issue and Gov. Cox for signing this important piece of legislation.”
“Solving more violent crimes quickly can bring peace to victims and reduce the number of future victims,” said Kevin Ring, vice president of criminal justice advocacy at Arnold Ventures. “Would-be offenders need to know that they will be held accountable, and this law will make it more likely they will. We thank legislative leaders, including Rep. Clancy and Sen. McKell, and Gov. Cox for making sure Utah taxpayers and communities get the biggest public safety bang for their buck.”
H.B. 137, sponsored by Rep. Tyler Clancy (R-60) and Sen. Mike McKell (R-25), creates the Violent Crime Clearance Rate Fund to assist Utah law enforcement agencies in solving violent crimes. The fund will support hiring additional law enforcement officers and providing them with the tools they need to solve crimes. H.B. 137 includes provisions to ensure that resources from the fund reach departments of all sizes across both urban and rural jurisdictions. It will also help researchers conduct rigorous evaluations of the policies and practices that are most effective in solving crimes.
Utah is one of the safest states in the nation. But since 2019, the state’s violent crime clearance rate has hovered around 53%. That means nearly half of all violent crimes reported in Utah result in no arrest and no accountability. Even Utah’s 2024 homicide clearance rate of 74% — well above the national average — leaves more than 1 in 4 murders unsolved. Behind each of those unsolved cases is a victim whose family has been denied justice.
Olin, Ring, and other criminal justice experts are available for interview or comment.
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More information on the Niskanen Center’s criminal justice policy work can be found here.
More information on AV’s criminal justice policy work can be found here.
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The Niskanen Center advances an evidence-based agenda to reduce the social costs of crime and punishment. Our priority is to deter crime and reduce violence by building effective systems that deliver proportional punishment swiftly and predictably, and by ensuring law enforcement has the capacity to keep our neighborhoods safe.
Arnold Ventures is a philanthropy that supports research to understand the root causes of America’s most persistent and pressing problems, as well as evidence-based solutions to address them. By focusing on systemic change and bipartisan policy reforms, AV works to improve the lives of American families, strengthen communities, and promote economic opportunity.
The Utah Jazz are clearly doing everything they can to keep their pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Something tells me that next season, we won’t see as many players on the injury report as this season. That means that the core of this Jazz team will play, and it’s clear they’re going to play well. The question is, of the current Jazz roster, who is going to be the most important player next season? Now, Utah may win the lottery and that could change this entire question. If Utah drafts someone like Darryn Peterson or AJ Dybantsa, that changes everything. That said, let’s just ignore the lottery and draft for the sake of this question. If we’re looking at the odds, it’s statistically a little more likely Utah doesn’t draft in the top four of the draft anyway.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Jazz fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
