For the fourth time this season, the Utah Hockey Club went scoreless on Saturday night. Unlike the previous three shutout losses, Karel Vejmelka was not in net.

The Nashville Predators, who entered the game in last place in the NHL, had a 4-0 loss at their hands. The Predators’ win moves them up four spots in the standings; still far from where they want to be, but a step in the right direction.

Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals each for the Predators, while Juuse Saros stopped all 26 shots he faced.

“We have to find a way to generate more offense without compromising our defense,” Utah HC coach André Tourigny said after the match.

Hockey Fights Cancer night

Each NHL team holds an annual “Hockey Fights Cancer” night in November to show support for those affected by the disease and raise funds to fight the disease. That was the case in Nashville on Saturday.

This Hockey Fights Cancer night is more meaningful to me personally than in years past because my grandmother lost her battle with cancer on Wednesday. He will be missed very much.

If you feel so inclined, visit Victory Against Cancer Foundation website to donate.

Utah HC will hold its Hockey Fight Cancer night on November 29th against the Edmonton Oilers.

Utah Hockey for Dummies

What needs to happen for Utah HC to score more consistently?

“It was difficult to reach their home and create quality opportunities,” Tourigny said. “We have to find a way to generate more offense from our (offensive) zone game.”

What does this mean? This means Utah HC has a hard time getting the puck into high percentage goal areas (middle of the ice in the opponent’s zone).

That’s exactly what Forsberg did to score his second goal, as seen below.

Money Puck’s map It shows that almost all of Utah HC’s shots come from around the offensive zone. It is very difficult to score from such a distance. Goaltenders in today’s NHL are very good.

If Utah wants to score more goals, they need to do what Tourigny says and find ways to get into the middle of the ice.

The Predators’ defense deserves a lot of praise. It wasn’t because Utah HC didn’t try to get in front of the net. The Predators did a really good job of keeping them at bay. They drowned all attacks.

Utah Hockey for casual fans

On paper, Utah HC’s penalty kick looked formidable; You never aim for a 50% success rate. But considering the circumstances, it wasn’t actually that bad.

Utah encountered an unfortunate situation in the first period. The referees awarded Utah HC two penalties at the same time, one of which was a double minor penalty due to a high stick. This means they have to leave two people behind for two minutes and one person for the other two minutes.

Utah HC killed the entire 5-on-3, but Jonathan Marchessault took advantage of the tired penalty kick and scored on a sweet deflection.

On the Predators’ first power play goal by Filip Forsberg, Utah HC actually did nothing wrong. The puck squirted in the board battle, the Predators took the ball, Forsberg received a pass and fired a shot from the top of the faceoff dot.

This is a very low percentage shooting area, but Forsberg’s shot is among the best in the world.

Of course, the best way to prevent power play goals is to stay out of the box. Utah HC did this in the second and third periods, but eight penalty minutes in the first period dug them into a hole they couldn’t get out of.

Utah Hockey for Nerds

Self-confidence can be a major limiting factor for young players starting their NHL careers. They often go from being the best on the ice in a league to the worst on the ice in the NHL. They often hesitate to make big moves because they are afraid they will make mistakes.

Maveric Lamoureux had the exact opposite problem on Saturday night.

In the first period, he made an overconfident pass from his own zone, hoping to set his teammate up for a strange rush. It didn’t go as planned.

The Predators intercepted the ball in the neutral zone, advanced into the Utah HC’s half, and forced Alex Kerfoot to take a penalty. The Predators would of course score on the ensuing power play.

In the third period, I had to double-check my feed to make sure he didn’t somehow jump into the first period without me noticing, because he made the same pass.

It was once again removed and moved to the Utah HC district as before. It ended in a penalty again, although this time it was against the Predators.

Tourigny is known for his ability to motivate young players. Regardless of whether he decides to correct this trend, Utah HC fans can trust that it will be in the best interest of both the player and the team.

What’s next?

After what seems like an eternity, Utah HC returns to Salt Lake City on Saturday night in preparation for its game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.

And after what seems like an eternity, Utah HC jerseys will likely be available for purchase at that game. Get there early because if souvenir discs are any indication of demand for Utah HC products, they’ll sell out fast.

As for the hockey itself, this will be a real challenge for Utah HC. The Hurricanes sit first in the Metropolitan Division and fourth in the NHL.

Unlike most teams, they play man-to-man defense, which is a very aggressive system. Their blue line features renowned defenseman Jaccob Slavin, 2017 Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns, Stanley Cup champion Dmitry Orlov and many other bona fide top-four defensemen.

Their high-powered defensive corps has caused the Hurricanes to score fewer goals than other teams this year. They also rank seventh in the league in terms of goals.

The game kicks off at 7pm MDT and will be broadcast on Utah HC+ and Utah 16. Available on Ticketmaster Priced as low as $46 at the time of writing.