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John Marino, Utah Hockey Club (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

3 Takeaways From Utah’s 4-2 Loss to Kraken

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Chase Beardsley | Last updated Mar 15, 2025 9:05 AM ET

A weird night for the Utah Hockey Club turned into a frustrating loss on Friday as they lost the first game of their Pacific Northwest road trip 4-2 against the Seattle Kraken. They are down to 16 games now to claim the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Here are some takeaways from Friday’s game.

Kevin Stenlund’s First Multi-Point Night With Utah

Kevin Stenlund is in the midst of the best season of his career with Utah. It’s been a great year for the Swedish forward. He won the Stanley Cup last summer with the Florida Panthers, got a nice two-year contract with Utah, and now has 17 points in 66 games this season. Stenlund has served an important role on the team as the fourth line’s center. He’s been fantastic in the face-off circle and has been a good defensive player.

Stenlund usually isn’t one to chip in a lot of offense. His career high in points before this season was 15. However, at times this season, Stenlund has looked like the best player on the ice, and that’s exactly what happened on Friday.

After killing off the first Kraken power play, Stenlund jumped out of the penalty box and was able to retrieve the puck with Nick Schmaltz on his left. Stenlund got the puck over to Schmaltz for his 16th goal of the season.

Stenlund’s second point of the night was more impressive. John Marino was able to strip the puck away from a Kraken player in the neutral zone. After playing it up to Michael Carcone, Marino got the puck back and put on some nice moves to eventually slide a backhanded pass to Stenlund, who deposited it into the empty net. It was his ninth goal of the season.

“With the way the puck was passed to me, they did a good job of driving the net,” Marino said. “Carcy made a good play.”

The game was also Stenlund’s first multi-point game of the season. The forward has had great moments this season with Utah, such as his four straight games with a goal back in December. This game will definitely go up with that stretch as one of the highlights of his season.

Stenlund is a fantastic player on the ice, but he’s been very important off the ice as well. He’s a more experienced forward, having a Stanley Cup championship under his belt. His winning experience is an important thing to have around the locker room, especially during this stretch where Utah is battling for a playoff spot. It’s a big reason why Utah signed him.

“Having those guys around, when things aren’t going your way and everything, you just have to stick with it and keep playing your game, and you got them to rely on,” Marino said.

The entire bottom six had a fantastic game and were the highlight of the game for Utah. It was a strong showing of the depth that has helped them get to this point.

An Off Night for the Utah Defense

From the best part of Utah’s game on Friday to the worst part. Utah’s defense, which has been strong since the return of Marino and Sean Durzi, was questionable on Friday. What was even worse was that it was the top defensemen who looked shaky.

It started with the first Kraken goal less than a minute into the game. Olli Määttä tried sliding over a puck to Durzi, but the pass missed, and Elli Tolvanen capitalized, snapping a puck past Karel Vejmelka. It was one of the worst possible ways to start a game and if it wasn’t for the early lead, it might’ve been a different game completely.

The third Kraken goal was even more frustrating. Mikhail Sergachev went back near his own net to retrieve the puck. He then tried clearing the puck, but instead of flinging it out of Utah’s zone, he accidentally ripped it at Vejmelka. Confused, Vejmelka saved the puck but couldn’t hold on to it and Kappo Kakko wrapped it around and deposited it into the net, giving the Kraken a 3-2 lead.

If those two goals weren’t bad enough, it was the goal that Utah couldn’t score that was the icing on the cake. With a couple of minutes left to go, Vejmelka was pulled for the extra attacker. It’s been well documented how awful Utah has been with their goaltender pulled, as they are the only team not to have a goal with six forwards on the ice. Unfortunately, that did not change Friday, as the first face-off in the Kraken zone with Vejmelka on the bench instantly led to Tolvanen’s second goal of the game.

In total, it was a mess for Utah’s blueline. The slow start, the defensive lapses, and the lack of capitalization on opportunities led to a loss.

“The turnovers, especially in the third, they were forechecking out,” Marino said. “I think it was more ourselves turning the puck over. That was unfortunate, we kind of created our own mistakes.”

Of course, Utah wasn’t trying to start slow, but it has happened in the past. It is being scrutinized more now because every game is a crucial one for Utah at this point. Turnovers killed the team, making it hard for them to come back.

“We’re not trying to start slow,” Schmaltz said. “It just happens sometimes. We’re trying to make too many plays and our execution wasn’t great. Instead of simplifying, I thought we tried to make too many plays, and we turned the puck over.”

A Missed Opportunity for Utah

The loss is devastating for Utah if you look at what happened around the league. The St. Louis Blues lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, and the Calgary Flames lost to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. That means if Utah had won against the Kraken, they would’ve been in a three-way tie with the Flames and the Vancouver Canucks for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

It’s ground lost for sure, and it’s even worse that the loss was against a non-playoff team like the Kraken. It’s the second time this season that Utah has lost to the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. Maybe the building is bad luck for Utah. Either way, they have to move on quickly because the team’s next game could be the biggest one of the season. A Sunday night game against the Canucks that could eventually determine which of these teams make the playoffs.

“You gotta turn the page quick,” Schmaltz said. “Every game feels like do or die at this point. We gotta control our own destiny. Play how we want to play, and take care of business. A frustrating start, but all we can do is move on and get back to work.”

The pressure has never been higher. Utah is two points back from a playoff spot. At this point, a win could get them in a three-way tie. A loss could put them further back in the hunt. For head coach André Tourigny, pressure is a privilege. It means they’re in a good situation, and his young players are also learning what it means to be in important games. His advice? Embrace it.

“Embrace it,” Tourigny said. “It’s a privilege. Would you rather be 10 points out? We’re right there…let’s embrace it. Let’s make sure we don’t play like that next game.”

For Tourigny, as Schmaltz said, the team needs to turn the page quickly. There was a lot that went wrong on Friday. It was an off night for everyone. Time to look forward to Sunday.

“I’m not happy about much, to be honest,” Tourigny said. “Our execution was not there. I don’t think we had our usual transition game, our usual offense, our usual inside presence. It’s one of those off nights where you put the tape right in the trash and move on.”

Utah will continue their road trip on Sunday against the Canucks. The Canucks are 30-24-11 this season and are coming off of a 4-3 shootout win against the Flames, although they will play the Chicago Blackhawks before Sunday’s game. These two teams last met in February at the Delta Center, where Utah won 2-1.