The Carolina Hurricanes will finish a quick road trip this evening with their first trip to Utah to face the Utah Hockey Club. Last night the Canes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 5-2. Pyotr Kochetkov picked up his seventh straight victory, but with the back-to-back, expect to see Spencer Martin between the pipes. Kochetkov has 8 victories this season in 9 games played, which has been enormous in Frederik Andersen's absence.
Seth Jarvis's absence due to injury allowed Tyson Jost to enter the lineup for the first time in a Carolina jersey. Martin Necas has remained red-hot with 8 goals and 24 points to start the season.
The New Jersey Devils are atop the Metro Division over the Canes by two points, but the Devils have played 5 more games. The Canes are 6-2 on the road and Jack Roslovic will look to get back on the score sheet tonight after being held scoreless in Las Vegas. Roslovic still has no assists on the year, but 9 tallies have him leading the team in goals.
The former Arizona Coyotes franchise has now become the Utah Hockey Club...for now. The team will release a name for next season. The first year in Utah has had it's historical moments and the team has held their own with a point-per-game pace that finds them 4th in the Central Division. If it were not for the Winnipeg Jets winning their first 15 out of 15 games, Utah would be in a better position.
The Utah Hockey Club is 3-2-1 so far at home this season. The last home victory was on October 30th against the Calgary Flames. Utah has been on the road since that victory with a 4 game road trip that saw them go 1-3 with the lone victory in St. Louis against the Blues. They last played in Nashville on Saturday where they were shut out in a 4-0 defeat.
Dylan Guenther got off to a Necas-type start but has slowed down recently. Guenther leads the team in goals with 7 and has 5 helpers. Newly named captain, Clayton Keller, leads the team in points with 13. Keller is elusive and sneaky at the top of the circle and will require the help of Jaccob Slavin to contain.
The opposite of Roslovic's season is Nick Schmaltz, with no goals but 12 assists this season to lead the team in that category. The young star, Logan Cooley, has had a solid start with 2 goals and 9 assists. He has the potential to create a highlight reel play so Rod Brind'Amour will need to be alert for number 92.
On defense, newly acquired Mikhail Sergachev has had the opportunity to be the top player on the blue line after being in the shadow of Victor Hedman in Tampa Bay. Sergachev has responded with 2 goals and 10 points. He has averaged over 25 minutes a game, which is incredible, and leads the team.
Michael Kesselring has had a strong start to his career and this season he has 3 goals and 7 points, which should set the pace for a career year.
Connor Ingram has built off a solid 2023-24 season and taken hold of the crease for the club. Ingram has played in 12 games this season and has all of Utah's 6 victories. He has a 3.40 GAA and a .879 save percentage. Karel Vejmelka has played solid in his 4 games with a 2.75 GAA but consistency has always been a concern.
This has the makings for a high-scoring game, especially if the Canes start Martin in goal. I think the initial burst from Utah will need to be dealt with by the Carolina defense, allowing them to settle into the game. Some tired Carolina legs will be on the ice late in the game, so the damage will need to be done early in the match.