Maybe all it took was a new location for the Utah Hockey Club to find a good groove. In their first three games since relocating away from the Arizona Coyotes, the Utah Hockey Club is a perfect 3-0-0.

Not only is Utah off to an undefeated start, they’ve scored 16 goals in three games. Led by future franchise centerpiece Dylan Guenther, who already has five tallies, the Utah Hockey Club seems unbeatable.

They got things going as a franchise with a picture-perfect home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks. Guenther scored a pair of goals, including the first goal in franchise history, en route to a huge 5-2 win.

The official attendance count for Utah’s home opener is listed at 11,131, but that only counts unobstructed seats. It’s well known that the Delta Center has quite a few obstructed seats, but that didn’t matter on opening night.

Utah fans packed the house, making sure there wasn’t an empty seat to speak of.

Following their home opener, Utah embarked on a four-game road trip, and so far, success has followed.

Utah defeated the New York Islanders 5-4 in overtime, with Guenther playing the hero. A few nights later, Utah again had overtime magic, this time against a Stanley Cup favorite in the New York Rangers.

By a score of 6-5, newly minted captain Clayton Keller notched the OT winner. With their victory over the Rangers, Utah became just the second team in NHL history to win each of their first three games, joining the Vegas Golden Knights.

Utah’s great start can be credited, in part, to Guenther’s goal-scoring ability, but he hasn’t been alone in finding the back of the net. Guenther has been joined by Barrett Hayton in scoring in each of the first three games of the season.

Hayton has gone a solid goal-per-game with three tallies in three games, while Guenther is leading the team with five through the organization’s first week.

Utah will need to work on their defense and goaltending, but there are easy ways to solve that problem. While they’ve scored 16 goals in their first three games, they’ve also allowed 11.

Connor Ingram has been in goal for each game and is a perfect 3-0, but sits with a .874 save percentage and 3.54 goals against average. The reigning Masterton Trophy winner will want to hone that in a bit to really make Utah a lethal team in the West.

Their perfect start gives them six standings points, good for an early-season tie for the league lead. The New Jersey Devils also have six points with a 3-1-0 record.

It’s early in the season, but Utah is a team to keep an eye on. With some organizational stability, a boisterous fanbase, and a team ready to compete at a new level, Utah isn’t going to be easy competition in its inaugural season.

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Opening night was historic and the comeback on Long Island was resilient, but Saturday’s 6-5 overtime win against the New York Rangers officially introduced Utah Hockey Club to the National Hockey League.

This team is here to play.

Utah’s 3-0 record is an early and small sample size.

But this was a character win that showed what this team is capable of.

The Hockey Club skated into the Rangers’ opening night at Madison Square Garden in front of 18,000 fans and displayed a heightened level of competitiveness, weaponizing speed, physical edge and goal-scoring flair that allowed it to pull out a win against the reigning President Trophy winners.

“This is a long season, only three games in,” said Clayton Keller, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime. “For sure this is a big win, that’s a great team. They’ve had a lot of success, they’re hard to play against. I thought we did a good job staying with it the full 60.”

Keller’s goal came at 4:05 of the extra 3-on-3, five-minute period. The captain picked the puck up behind the net, circled around and took the little space he had to snap it bardown past Rangers’ goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The play marked Keller’s second goal of the game and third of the season.

“I was shocked he was able to get it up from that angle,” forward Barrett Hayton said. “We were all just making sure it went in.”

Hayton opened the scoring for Utah in the first period before New York found the 1-1 equalizer at 8:38 of the opening frame when Artemi Panarin sniped it through Vladislav Kolyachonok’s legs and into the net.

Then came a second period that felt like a whole game itself. There were a cumulative seven goals scored and 50 penalty minutes taken — including two fights and two game misconducts — in the rowdy middle stanza.

“Entertainment. We’re in Manhattan. That’s the way we wanted it,” head coach André Tourigny quipped.

Jack McBain potted his first of the season with a knock-in tally from the left doorstep for the 2-1 lead at 1:48. Panarin’s second the night tied things 2-2 soon after. Keller and Kevin Stenlund both scored to put Utah up 4-2 by 8:38.

A bizarre sequence from K’Andre Miller made it 4-3 at 9:18. The Rangers defenseman dumped the puck into the zone, it bounced off the left corner boards and into the empty net. Connor Ingram was behind the net expecting the puck to come around.

McBain and Michael Kesselring both dropped the gloves with New York’s Adam Edstrom and Sam Carrick, respectively. McBain and Edstrom were assessed game misconducts because they instigated a second fight once one was already going between Kesselring and Carrick.

“I liked how our guys stepped up and they pushed back for the team,” Tourigny said. “A ton of respect for that and I’m proud of that. No problem with that.”

Dylan Guenther’s fifth goal in three games gave Utah a 5-3 advantage at 13:59. The 21-year-old forward was stationed at the left circle and snapped it home on the power play. Hayton and Nick Schmaltz picked up their second points of the game with assists on the play.

The Rangers closed out the second with a wrist-shot goal from Braden Schneider to put the matchup at a 5-4 scoreline heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation. Will Cuylle scored for the Rangers in the third to tie it 5-5 and force overtime.

“I think teams like [the Rangers] when they’re pushing, if you give them too much time, too much space and just kind of play tentative, they’re gonna kill you. Just stick with our game and weather it,” Hayton said of New York’s third-period push.

Keller’s overtime heroics to secure the 6-5 victory capped off a game that Utah can look back at throughout the year and say, “We can play against the best.” It is not to say this team is going to win the next 10 straight games; it could lose the next 10 for all we know.

There were lapses in coverage, spotty breakouts and plenty of room for improvement. But Utah figured it out. The believability that injects into a locker room is invaluable.

“It’s a good step in the right direction,” Keller said. “I think as a group we all just stayed patient, stayed in the moment and were able to fight through and get the win.”

The San Antonio Spurs continue their preseason slate Saturday evening with a matchup against the Utah Jazz, giving the young squad a chance to continue proving itself.

Last time out, San Antonio bested the Magic behind a strong performance from Stephon Castle and an exciting pairing of Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama.

The latter duo won’t get another chance to shine until next time out with Wembanyama resting for the second time in three games, but there will be plenty more players suiting up, including Zach Collins, who will be making his seaosn debut after undergoing shoulder surgery over the offseason.

READ MORE: Paul, Wembanyama Looked Like Old Friends vs. Magic

If he does well, it could bode well for the Spurs to begin the season, as they’ll certainly need strong play from their bigs — beyond Wembanyama, of course — to help round out their attack on both ends.

The Utah Jazz, meanwhile, will be looking to keep its win streak going after beginning the preseason 3-0 with wins over New Zealand, the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. A win over the Spurs would mean a sweep of Texas, and yet another win by Coach Will Hardy over his former employer.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Spurs’ second preseason bout:

Utah Jazz

San Antonio Spurs

As it stands, Spurs big man Zach Collins has two guaranteed seasons in San Antonio remaining. He’s shown potential to be a key piece of the Spurs’ march toward contention, but if he wants to stick around, he’ll have to continue to provide stability in more ways than one, especially with the Spurs lacking a true difference-making big.

He could be that player, but he has to prove it. That’s what makes next season especially important.

Luckily, he’s already begun working, “feeling good” and winning the confidence of both Gregg Popovich and Brian Wright.

“He’s doing great,” Wright said during his press conference in San Antonio after the 2024 NBA Draft. “He’s working hard every day. Obviously, it was unfortunate, but you guys know Zach.

“He’s a hard worker and he’s been there before.”

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