Utah’s last shot was inches away from tying the game after the puck hit the left post, but ultimately, it was Utah’s lack of offense in the first two periods that lost it the game
Trying to make a push late, Utah (21-22-9) found itself down 2-1 to Saint Louis (24-25-4) with only twenty seconds remaining in the game.
To make matters worse for Utah, it was recovering the puck from behind its empty net after a shot from Blues forward Brayden Schenn nearly went in.
But as long as there is time on the clock, there is hope.
With few seconds to spare after racing down the ice and passing to one another, Utah’s John Marino found himself with the puck.
As he took the shot, the puck soared into the bodies, one of which included Utah’s Jack McBain, right in front of the net. But even with the puck deflecting off McBain and going behind Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, the puck went too high and bounced off the left cross bar.
With no more time on the clock, Clayton Keller's shot came too late and the Blues came out with its first win against Utah this season.
“We're a resilient bunch. I thought we battled hard today,” said Utah defenseman Michael Kesselring, when asked about the fight of the team on the final shot. “We didn't have our best stuff, but it hurts losing that one.”
But while Utah ended up close to forcing its third consecutive overtime game, it was still too little too late for this team.
Throughout the first two periods, Utah struggled to generate offense, especially considering it only generated six shots on goal in the first.
Meanwhile for St. Louis, it was able to keep firing shots over and over again on pace to 15 shots on goal.
When St. Louis forward Alexandre Texier scored in the first period, it felt like the Blues had been due for a goal for a while.
What was surprising was just exactly how Texier managed to score.
After receiving the puck from a behind-the-back tap by Radek Faksa, Texier aimed left and took the shot, despite Utah goalie Connor Ingram leaning toward that side of the net.
With a little help from Faksa blocking Ingram’s vision of the shot, Texier’s shot precisely went past Ingram to get the Blues its first point.
It wasn’t until the third period that Utah would be able to answer back with a goal of its own.
With a much better showing on defense in the second, limiting the Blues to seven shots on goal, all Utah needed was for its offense to generate just a little bit of momentum to get into the game.
Finally, that momentum came to Utah in the form of a Kesselring shot.
Just seconds after Nick Bjugstad won the faceoff, Kesselring fired a shot that whizzed past players from both teams before finding the upper right corner of the net.
After getting the goal, Utah's offense notably played with a new life that it didn't have in the third and looked well-positioned to make a third period comeback.
But in the end, a slap shot from Jordan Kyrou slipped through Ingram's legs, turning out to be the game-sealing goal.
“I think that everyone’s really said just about all that could be said. I mean, at some point it needs to get put into practice on the ice," said Utah defenseman Ian Cole. "And I’ve said it before, we’re judged on whether we win or lose, so obviously [there's] something we need to change right now and right away” said Ian Cole.
The last time Utah played St. Louis, it came away with a 4-2 win, with Keller and Logan Cooley providing offensive firepower all night.
But with no Cooley in the lineup for this game, the only similarity Utah showed to its past self was another fight breaking out with Tyler Tucker—this time, with McBain throwing his gloves down on the ice to fight instead of Liam O’Brien.
With only four more games before the 4 nations break, Utah will need to figure out how it can thrive on offense as it waits for Cooley and Dylan Guenther to get healthy.
“It’s super important. For us, we’re in a sprint. I talked before, it’s a race. Every step is important," said André Tourigny. It’s an extremely huge game for us (Tuesday) against Philly. "We need the two points; we need to finish the homestand at least at .500, hit the road and have a helluva road trip before the break. There’s no doubt about it."
With tonight’s win, St. Louis earned its first victory of the season over Utah after losing the first three matchups. It will be a while before these two teams meet again, but with that game being the last of the season for both, it could have major playoff implications—especially if both teams are battling for the final wild card spot in the West.
Until then, Utah will need to find a way to snap its five-game losing streak when it faces the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 4.
With it being Utah’s last home game of the four-game homestand—and the final game before the 4 Nations Break—there will be extra pressure to win and avoid a 0-4 record at home.
Do you think Utah will win against Philly? Let me know down below
