3 Takeaways From Utah’s 5-2 Win Over Sabres

After a four-day break from their previous game, the Utah Hockey Club looked refreshed and rejuvenated as they took down the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Saturday. It was a game filled with accomplishments and scoring as Utah continues to grow as a team. Here are some takeaways from Saturday afternoon’s win.

A Big Day for Michael Kesselring

Going into Saturday afternoon’s game, Michael Kesselring was set to play his 100th NHL game against the Sabres. However, it ended up being one of Kesselring’s best this season.

Kesselring scored Utah’s first goal of the game with a strong shot from the blue line. His dominance continued as he fought a Sabres player and then later assisted on Nick Schmaltz’s game-winning goal, all of which cumulated in a Gordie Howe hat trick, the first one in Utah franchise history.

It wasn’t just offensively where Kesselring shined in Saturday’s game. It was defensively too. He was able to keep the puck out of danger throughout the game and overall, impressed everyone on Utah including his head coach.

“He did a great job,” said head coach André Tourigny. “Scored a big goal. He skated well, skated the puck out of trouble a few times. I like the fact that he did not try to complicate his game a lot.”

In the absence of John Marino and Sean Durzi, Kesselring has really stepped up his game on the blue line. He has 14 points this season which is good enough for second on the team in defensemen scoring and he is also a plus-11, which leads the whole team. 

Despite the win, Kesselring knows his team can still do things a bit better. However, he liked how they played and how Utah was able to shut down the Sabres’ offense.

“We’re tracking better, we’re managing the puck better,” Kesselring said. “We can still clean it up a little bit, but we did a good job today. We know they’re good off the rush, so we limited them pretty good and took advantage when we got chances.”

With the blue line looking shaky a couple of times throughout this season for Utah due to injuries or other issues, the team has always been able to rely on Kesselring to anchor the defense with Mikhail Sergachev. Considering that two of their top four defensemen are currently out with injuries, it might’ve been a blessing in disguise for Utah as Kesselring has blossomed into a consistent top-four defenseman.

André Tourigny Gets a Milestone Victory

Tourigny started coaching this core back during the 2021-22 season. During that time, the Arizona Coyotes started an extensive rebuild that gutted the team. Fast forward to Tourigny’s fourth season and Utah is starting to form a competitive team that is slowly building towards being a playoff competitor. 

Throughout the lowest points of the rebuild, Tourigny was the one behind the bench, trying to get the best from his team. It took three straight seasons of being under .500 but with the 5-2 win over the Sabres on Saturday, Tourigny finally recorded his 100th NHL win, all with the Coyotes and Utah.

In typical Tourigny fashion, he didn’t focus on his own achievements after the win. Instead, he talked about his team’s recent play and how Saturday’s win was a reward for Utah after playing some good hockey in the past 10 games.