WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Utah Hockey Club and Washington Capitals combined for five goals in an electric first period in D.C., but Utah was able to maintain the lead going into the first intermission.
Given the nature of the first period, it was to be expected that there could be more excitement in the second, and it didn’t take long for Dylan Guenther and the Hockey Club to continue their surge.
A minute and a half into the second period, Brandon Duhaime headed to the box for the Capitals after a hold against Olli Määttä, giving Utah their first Power Play opportunity of the morning.
Washington was able to kill off the first half of the Utah Power Play, clearing the puck with a minute left in the man advantage. Clayton Keller skated back to his own zone to collect the puck and then led the entry for Utah.
Utah strategically moved the puck around the zone, rotating through as they looked for an opening. Dylan Guenther stood near the far wall at the blue line with Mikhail Sergavhev on his left. Guenther passed the puck to Sergachev and then skated behind him to the other side of the ice.
Sergachev sent a pass to Clayton Keller at the top of the far circle, attracting a lot of attention from the Capitals penalty kill as he inched toward the middle of the ice. Keller’s presence allowed Guenther to get completely lost behind the Washington defense, leaving him wide open at the near dot.
Keller sent a perfect pass across the ice and Dylan Guenther unleashed a deadly one-timer into the top-right corner of the net, doubling the Utah Hockey Club’s lead.
Same spot. Same shot. Same result.
Guenther looking like a familiar face in Capital One Arena.
No. 11 is special Utah fans.pic.twitter.com/6MkL704VQQ
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) February 9, 2025
With the loss to Carolina on Saturday, Utah remains fourth in the wild card race with 55 points.
However, the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues all play later today which will give St. Louis a chance to catch up, and the other two to create a little more separation.
While Utah will certainly have their hands full against the Eastern Conference’s best in the Washington Capitals, the team has to quickly regroup and refocus.
“Couple mistakes that cost us…We were in that game & we kind of just did it to ourselves a little bit giving up a shorty and simple mistakes,” Keller said.
“It sucks to lose that one but it’s a huge game tomorrow for us…we all know it’s a huge game for us.”
Those two potential points are as precious as ever as the NHL approaches a two-week break for the Four Nations tournament.
With Sean Durzi nearing a return and hopes of getting Logan Cooley back in the not-so-distant future, remaining within striking distance going into the break will be critical for Utah.
As of right now, Utah’s game against the Capitals on Sunday will be the most important of the season.
