The Vancouver Canucks and the Utah Hockey Membership enter their conflict in Salt Lake Metropolis on Sunday evening having misplaced their first video games after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
On Saturday, the Canucks fell 3-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights on the street and Utah misplaced in Los Angeles, 5-3 to the Kings. However Vancouver and Utah will return it within the second sport of their back-to-back units.
Jake DeBrusk, who scored Vancouver’s solely aim because the Canucks had their three-game successful streak snapped Saturday, mentioned it took a while getting acclimated once more after the two-week break.
“Simply getting the sensation of the puck, like off the boards,” he mentioned. “Like myself, I felt rusty.”
DeBrusk reached the 20-goal plateau for the fourth time in his profession as he gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead 6:22 into the sport. However that was the extent of Vancouver’s offense for the evening.
Kevin Lankinen, who performed for Finland within the 4 Nations Face-off, made 32 saves.
“We obtained to make extra performs,” mentioned the Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood, who obtained the primary help on DeBrusk’s aim. “I do know Lankey’s (Lankinen) world-class, however we left him out on an island an excessive amount of.”
Star middle Elias Pettersson performed for the Canucks on Saturday after many doubted his availability resulting from an undisclosed damage suffered whereas he performed for Sweden within the event. Pettersson was minus-1 with one shot in simply shy of 16 minutes of ice time. He has 34 factors (11 targets, 23 assists) in 50 video games for the season.
Captain and reigning Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Quinn Hughes remained out with an indirect damage that has pressured him to overlook all of Vancouver’s February video games. He had been chosen to the US’ 4 Nations Face-Off workforce earlier than he was injured.
Utah, in the meantime, has dropped two of its previous three video games.
Barrett Hayton was answerable for the entire Utah scoring Saturday together with his first profession hat trick and the first-ever hat trick for the Utah Hockey Membership. The franchise is in its first season in Salt Lake Metropolis after shifting from Arizona.
“I like the very fact he obtained rewarded,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny mentioned. “We regularly discuss how a lot ‘Haytes’ performs the precise approach. He does every part proper on and off the ice, has the precise angle, competes so laborious. You can’t not cheer for him, so actually joyful for him.”
Hayton’s first aim gave Utah a 1-0 lead 7:54 into the sport. His second aim put Utah forward 2-1 at 5:50 of the second interval. Each targets got here on the ability play. Hayton’s third aim got here with 9 minutes left and pulled the workforce to 4-3. However defenseman Mikey Anderson’s empty-net aim with 1:30 remaining clinched the victory for the Kings.
Hayton mentioned the enjoyment he may need felt over the feat was overshadowed by defeat.
“Proper now it is form of simply the sting of the sport. In some unspecified time in the future, I am going to look again. It’s cool to do,” Hayton mentioned. “At this level, it’s irritating shedding that sport. It is such an enormous sport. I really feel like we form of put our coronary heart and soul into that sport — our effort was there.”
Nick Schmaltz had two assists and Connor Ingram made 21 saves.
Hayton has 32 factors (15 targets, 17 assists) in 57 video games for the season.
Utah defenseman Sean Durzi returned after sustaining a shoulder damage on Oct. 14 and lacking 52 video games. In 21:37 of ice time Saturday, he had an help, 4 pictures, two blocks, two giveaways and a takeaway.
–Discipline Stage Media