The Utah HC coach spoke about how the bottom-six forward group plays a role in keeping the team fresh.
The Utah Hockey Club's win in overtime over Boston Saturday came with the assistance of some heavy minutes by the bottom-six forward group.
Notably, the fourth line of Matias Maccelli, Kevin Stenlund, and Kailer Yamamoto ate nearly 15 minutes of ice time each, including spending much of the final five minutes of regulation on the rink.
No wonder, then, Andre Tourigny said performances like those will be critical, especially heading into tonight's game against the Ottawa Senators.
"We want to be a hard-working team," Tourigny said after morning skate at Delta Center Tuesday. "In order to do that, we need to roll everybody. The offence can come from anywhere."
Example A: Defencemen scored both goals in Saturday's win, with rookie Vladislav Kolyachonok providing the spark that set the home crowd aflame, lifting the team to a critical OT win.
"We did a really good job against the Bruins, but it doesn't mean anything anymore," Tourigny said. "Now it's about, can we stay humble and urgent as much as we were against them? That's the challenge for us."
Read more from the gameday notes here, provided by the club:
Courtesy of Utah Hockey Club.Projected Lines: Ottawa vs. Utah HC
Forwards
Clayton Keller - Barrett Hayton - Nick Schmaltz
Jack McBain - Logan Cooley - Dylan Guenther
Lawson Crouse - Alex Kerfoot - Josh Doan
Matias Maccelli - Kevin Stenlund - Kailer Yamamoto
Defence
Mikhail Sergachev - Michael Kesselring
Robert Bortuzzo - Juuso Valimaki
Vladislav Kolyachonok - Ian Cole
Goaltender: Connor Ingram
Scratches: Patrik Koch, Liam O'Brien, and Michael Carcone
What is NHL Frozen Frenzy?
You will hear this term thrown around a lot tonight. Originally conceived during the 2022-23 season, all 32 NHL teams will be in action on one night, with most games starting 15 minutes apart.
If you want to partake of the full experience, ESPN+ and ESPN2 will have an NFL Red Zone-style show beginning at 6 p.m. MT, along with a tripleheader of games beginning on ESPN at the same time.