Olli Maatta carries the puck for the Utah Hockey Club (Photo by Utah Hockey Club).
(Photo by Utah Hockey Club)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The second period has been all Utah Hockey Club, with the visitors scoring consecutive goals to grab a 2-1 lead over Columbus. Olli Määttä pushed the puck toward the front of the net and was rewarded with a goal for making the right play.
Utah HC (22-22-9, 53 points) is in the Buckeye State to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (26-21-7, 59 points) at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, February 6. Columbus sits one point out of an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot. Utah is fourth in the Western Conference Wild Card chase, six points behind Calgary.
Utah seeks revenge after the Blue Jackets stormed back from two goals down to force overtime before stealing the win in overtime.
Nice work, fellas 🙌 pic.twitter.com/YeeOAw357C
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) February 7, 2025
Stranded on the wing, Määttä zipped the puck toward the crease, hoping to find a teammate. Nick Bjugstad appeared to arrive with perfect timing to redirect the puck past Elvis Merzlikins in net. After review, Määttä was credited with the goal.
Määttä’s goal came minutes after Lawson Crouse ripped the game-tying goal after a power play ended.
Utah has controlled the second period. The Club is outshooting the Blue Jackets 18-11 while being outhit 14-12.
As of right now, the Utah Hockey Club is currently six points out of the final wild-card spot behind the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
So, while Utah is not out of the race by any means, they would have to play near-perfect hockey over the next 29 games and win at least 19 to have a legitimate shot.
It’s not impossible, but it’s challenging, especially considering the fact that Sean Durzi and Logan Cooley won’t be reevaluated until after Four Nations.
How we’re lining up tonight ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nfMyMXeZRS
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) February 6, 2025
“(Tonight’s win) was absolutely huge,” Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said after the win over Philadelphia. “We still very much believe. We don’t look at scores elsewhere, but we know Calgary lost. We know Vancouver is up by one after two.”
“The point is…we know at this point we’ll need a bit of help (to make the playoffs). We didn’t take the straight line. But we can make it and we’ll fight for it. Now we’ll need to go on the road and have a helluva road trip.”
Utah Hockey Club games can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on the KSL Sports app or 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
Cole Bagley is the Utah Hockey Club insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. Listen to Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
Find KSLSports.com coverage of the Utah Hockey Club here.
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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X and Instagram at @bpreece24.
