Utah HC loses to Sharks in overtime after blowing three-goal lead – Deseret News

Utah Hockey Club head coach Andre Tourigny appeared to be holding back tears after his team's 5-4 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday night.

Utah HC is on a four-game losing streak and has lost six of its last seven games. They still only have one win in regulation, which came in the season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“It just sucks,” Utah HC forward Matias Maccelli said after the game. “That's annoying.”

The biggest disappointment came in the last four and a half minutes of the third period, when the Sharks overcame a 4-1 deficit with three goals. If players are frustrated, they should put themselves in the shoes of us beat writers who had to scrap our entire stories. Just kidding.

Utah Hockey for Dummies

I originally planned to write about how spirits at the Delta Center are finally high again. Now they are at an all-time low.

The Sharks hadn't won a game this season and no team wants to be the one to break another team's losing streak. But no matter who you lose to, it hurts a little more to lose such a big lead.

“This can’t happen,” Maccelli said.

On the other hand, the Sharks' spirit was at a season high as they performed postgame music from two of the greatest artists of my generation: Eminem and Crazy Frog.

It was the Sharks' first win of the season and, more importantly, it was Ryan Warsofsky's first win as an NHL head coach.

Utah Hockey for the casual fan

During a losing streak, the leadership group is responsible for two things: getting things back on track and facing the media. They have not played any of the last two games.

After Monday's loss, Maccelli was the only player made available to the media. After Saturday's loss, it was Nick Bjugstad. Fans have short memories and need to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Sending a 24-year-old who speaks English as a second language is not enough.

“I think we have to lean on these guys,” Tourigny said of his leadership group after the game. “I think these guys need to own it. … What happened there is unacceptable. It’s embarrassing.”

Team captain Clayton Keller last spoke after the loss to the Ottawa Senators and assistant captain Lawson Crouse after the loss to the Colorado Avalanche, but both occurred before the losing streak got worse.

They probably say a lot more in the locker room, but it's important that fans hear similar messages.

Utah hockey for nerds

There are more than a few posts on Utah HC's social media calling for Tourigny's job. I emphasized that it is still too early for this, but I also realize that a team can quickly fall back in the table and coaching changes are usually accompanied by large fluctuations in dynamics.

The team initially brought in Tourigny because of his track record with young players. He spent most of his time between the OHL and the QMJHL – two junior leagues. He was also selected as bench boss for Canada's World Junior Championship teams on multiple occasions. But now that the kids are developing into full-fledged NHL players, Tourigny's expertise may be less useful.

There aren't many coaches who make it to the end of a rebuild. This is his fourth season behind the bench for the Arizona Coyotes/Utah HC team and he has done everything asked of him. If his end comes soon, it should not be viewed as a failure.

The team's goal this season is to be good. They want to make the playoffs. They want to show the people of Utah how exciting the game of hockey is. They want an audience that is excited to watch them play every night. A losing streak makes that much more difficult.

What's next?

Utah HC has a day to rest before hosting the Calgary Flames on Wednesday at the Delta Center.

The Flames surprised a lot of people this season as most expected them to be among the bottom teams in the league. A hot start has them in third place in the Pacific Division at this point – although that could well change by the time anyone reads this article, as five Pacific Division teams face off on Monday.

Jonathan Huberdeau, whom the Flames acquired in 2022 as a solution to the departures of several of their stars, has finally started to achieve sustained success in a Flames jersey. He struggled in his first few seasons in Calgary, but he now has seven points in eight games to start the season.

Defender Rasmus Andersson leads the team in both goals and points. Andersson has been the subject of many Utah HC trade rumors in recent weeks, as Utah HC could use another top-four defenseman and the Flames will take as many picks and prospects as they can get.

At the end of this game, Utah HC prepares to travel to Nevada, where they will be awaited by the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

The Golden Knights currently sit atop the Pacific Division with 13 points. They are second in the NHL in goals scored this season, which of course means their top players have a lot of points. Mark Stone leads the league with 17 points while Jack Eichel is third in the league with 15 points.

Wednesday's game begins at 7:30 p.m. MDT and Saturday's game is at 8:00 p.m. Both games will be available on Utah HC+ and Utah16.