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Andre Tourigny. Head Coach of the Utah Hockey Club (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

3 Takeaways From Utah’s 4-2 Win Over Red Wings

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Chase Beardsley | Last updated Mar 7, 2025 9:55 AM ET

The Utah Hockey Club continued its post 4-Nations break hot streak on Thursday as the team beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 to win their fourth game in the past five. It was a great showing for the team, especially for multiple players who signed extensions in the past week. Here are some takeaways from Thursday’s win.

The Extensions Kicked In

In the past week, Utah has signed four players to extensions. This includes, Olli Määttä, Alex Kerfoot, Ian Cole, and Karel Vejmelka. During Thursday’s game, all four players proved why they deserved extensions, and each made a significant impact to help Utah pull off the win.

Starting with Määttä and Cole, both played major parts in helping the puck stay out of the net. Cole had the second-highest ice time amongst defensemen, made two blocks, and had a hit. Meanwhile, after signing his three-year extension, Määttä had the fourth-highest ice time and was one of two defensemen to be a plus in the plus/minus category.

Both defensemen have been a big part in helping Utah get to this point in the season. Cole was brought in during the offseason and has been a great bottom pairing player. If needed, he’s also been great in increased minutes in the top four. Määttä was brought in during a time where Utah’s blue line was depleted due to injury. He stepped in right away and helped provide some defense that the team was sorely lacking.

Alex Kerfoot’s impact was felt early into the game. Just three minutes in, he was able to make a nice pass to Dylan Guenther, who scored his 23rd goal of the season. It was Kerfoot’s 17th point of the season. While he hasn’t had the impressive season he had in 2023-24 with the Arizona Coyotes, the veteran forward has provided a presence in the bottom six by winning faceoffs and providing solid defense. His leadership is another thing that he’s provided for Utah, a reason why they re-signed him as they trend towards playoff contender status.

Then there’s Vejmelka. The goaltender continues to prove why head coach André Tourigny has started him in every game since the 4-Nations break, except for one. He’s been incredible this season and has continued to keep Utah in games they have no business being in. Even after signing a five-year extension, Vejmelka continued his dominance in net, making 38 saves on 40 shots against the Red Wings.

“We demanded a lot from him tonight,” Tourigny said. “You just want to help him a little bit better. But you know what? That’s what the team is. When you stick together, sometimes it’s one guy, some another night, it’s another guy.”

Vejmelka is now one win away from tying his career high in a single season. It’s impressive how much he’s stepped up this season during a down season for Connor Ingram. Especially with the amount of trade rumors that have circled around him for the past year, Vejmelka played through it all, and now, he’s staying in the place he wanted to be.

“I desire to stay in Utah,” Vejmelka said. “It’s a great group of guys. That was first thing on my mind: to stay here and just be part of this great group. I’m glad to stay.”

All four players showed why they were each extended. While some like Vejmelka might be a little more obvious, all four of them have played crucial parts in getting Utah even close to the playoffs. It’s clear that Utah likes the core it has, which includes its veterans and its goaltending tandem, and running it back seems to be the plan for the next season, with some potential changes.

All Four Lines Were Rollin’

Interestingly enough, all four goals that were scored by Utah on Thursday each came from different lines. Guenther scored first from the second line, followed by Nick Schmaltz from the first to fourth liner Kevin Stenlund, who scored his first since Jan. 2 and finally, Lawson Crouse from the third line.

That interesting stat hasn’t been seen a lot this season from Utah, so it was a cool accomplishment. However, Tourigny knows that’s how his team should play. Teamwork and production from all of Utah’s lines should be the standard going forward, and it’s something Tourigny certainly expects from his team.

“What I liked tonight is every line has a goal,” Tourigny said. “You know, Schmaltz has a goal, Guenther has a goal, then Crouser has a goal, and Stenny has a goal. It’s every line chipping in. That’s our team.”

Utah’s offense continues to get better and better as the season reaches its final months. With four wins in their past five games under their belt, they’ll need to keep up the hard work as they continue to knock on the doorstep of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Pressure Is a Privilege

If you look at all of the stats from Thursday’s game, you might come to the conclusion that Utah didn’t deserve to win their game against the Red Wings. It was thanks to a solid defense, a fantastic outing by Vejmelka, and a decent penalty kill. It’s a theme that is common for Utah, except recently it’s been the other way around. In a lot of games as of late, the team has played good hockey, outshooting their opponents, but the result ends up as either a loss or a tighter victory than what fans were expecting.

Tourigny noticed the flip and acknowledged the team needs to play better, especially after the Red Wings doubled the amount of shots they had. However, he also admitted that it’s good to get the win and inflict the pain that Utah has felt all season long.

“You can say whatever you want,” Tourigny said. “We have a lot of those games where it’s the other way, where we dominate, and we cannot seal the deal this year. It’s good to be on the other side of it.”

It comes down to pressure. After five days off, Utah knew they had to win some games, especially after the St. Louis Blues continued their hot streak and the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks were able to secure points during their break. After facing a Red Wings team that is just as desperate for points, they didn’t crumble and instead escaped Detroit with two points.

“These are the games we want to be in,” Crouse said. “We talked about that after the second period. As much as we didn’t like the first two periods, we pulled together and we came out strong. It’s a great win.”

The Flames did lose to the Dallas Stars in overtime shortly after Utah’s win. This means they gained an extra point and are now three points ahead of Utah for the spot. There was also more news that the Colorado Avalanche acquired Brock Nelson and the Stars might acquire Mikko Rantanen, making the Central Division a force to be reckoned with.

Here is your daily look at the Western Conference wild card battle after Utah’s 4-2 win @ Detroit.

The Flames lost to the Stars in OT today, giving them a point. Utah is now three points out of a wild card spot.

Keep an eye on LA. They are on a five game losing streak.#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/hkf9xEwu6e
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) March 7, 2025

It certainly doesn’t make Utah’s upcoming schedule easy. They’ll play mostly playoff teams in the final weeks of the season. This includes the Tampa Bay Lightning twice who just acquired Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand, the Florida Panthers who traded for Seth Jones, the Edmonton Oilers who got Jake Walman and Trent Frederic, the Stars who might acquire the biggest name on the block as of now, and an assortment of other teams who will make the spring dance in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. It’s unclear if Utah will make any moves at the deadline as Thursday’s game was the team’s last before the deadline on Friday, but no matter what, it’ll be a difficult battle to the end.

However, if Utah can beat the Red Wings the way they did on Thursday night, they can, at the very least, give those teams a run for their money. Especially if Utah’s defense and goaltending can play like they did on Thursday, playoff hockey in Salt Lake City might not be a huge stretch. Either way, it was a big win against the Red Wings on Thursday. While improvements need to be made, like having a better start, the team stayed united as one and toughed out an important win.

“We bend but we didn’t break,” Tourigny said. “I like the way the guys were resilient and they stayed together. That’s a big, gutsy win.”

Utah won’t have to wait long for their next game as they play again on Friday. They’ll be facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks who are 19-35-8 this season and are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. The two met twice this season, more recently in February where Utah won 2-1.