Riding the momentum of its dominant 6-1 victory over Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, Utah was brought back down to Earth after a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Unlike its 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche earlier in the week, the Devils' defense was back to form, playing like the team that allows only 2.50 goals per game, the second fewest in the NHL.
"It's a really good team. It's a tight game," said head coach André Tourigny. "It’ll be a welcome break for us to regroup, recover. But at the same time, in life you win or you learn, and it's important. We had a few learning lessons in that game, and we cannot pass by."
It was New Jersey that scored the first goal on a Nico Hischier goal, marking his 400th NHL career point. With the Devils having gone 15-1-1 when leading after the first period (now 16-1-1), Utah found itself already in a tough position early.
But still, Utah wasn't rattled, even as it relied on strong play from goalie Karel Vejmelka, who finished the game with 26 saves to keep the score close while its offense fought to get going.
"Great. At key moments, he was great," said coach Tourigny. "In the first period, I think we were in deep water and he made key saves. He kept us there and allowed us to come back and tie the game."
Finally, Utah's efforts paid off as it tied the game 1-1 on a Mikhail Sergachev goal, marking his career-high 11th goal of the season.
"No, obviously I want to score as many as possible, but it's all about winning for me," said Sergachev. "If I can contribute scoring goals, great. If not, I'll play defense. I'm not chasing goals."
With fan favorite Liam O'Brien also contributing to the goal, recording his second assist of the season — his first point in front of the home crowd — Utah put itself in a good position to become one of the few teams to come back against the Devils.
After all, Utah did score its first goal against New Jersey this season and it seemed the team had finally found ways to play against the aggressive Devils' defense, even with a 20-14 shot disparity entering the third period.
But the dynamics of the game changed quickly when New Jersey's Timo Meier extended the lead to 2-1 just 14 seconds into the third period.
In a blink of an eye, Utah found itself down 2-1 before it could even properly set up.
Though Utah pushed back and generated some shots on goal, ultimately, a failed shot attempt by Guenther gave the puck back to the Devils, who quickly entered the offensive zone and scored their third goal of the night.
Despite New Jersey starting its third-string goalie, Nico Daws, for only the third time this season, Utah struggled to maintain consistent offensive pressure to force Daws into making a mistake. In fact, Daws finished with 24 saves on the night, including this critical late save in the third period:
With time winding down and a two-point deficit, Utah was given one final chance to break through the defense after a Devils tripping penalty with under two minutes remaining.
But even after pulling Vejmelka gave Utah a two man advantage, Utah wouldn't be able to score.
While the loss ended Utah's 4 game home win streak , Utah can get some much needed rest before it goes on the road to face Detroit this Thursday.
"Yeah, I think the biggest thing is just rest. I think it's been kind of a grind since break," said O'Brien. "I think just doing the right things away from the rink, and taking care of our bodies and getting ready to roll on the road."
The loss for Utah certainly will sting for a bit, but at least Utah can take comfort in knowing that both Calgary and Vancouver lost their matchups today.
With Utah only two points out of the final Wild Card spot, if Utah can keep on winning like it has been recently, it has a great chance of coming out of a competitive Western Conference on top.