My tribute to the Utah Hockey Club as I transition back to being a full-time fan again.
Alex Tumalip is departing The Hockey News for a new opportunity. This is his last article he will publish as a writer for the site.
After last night's win in St. Louis, the Utah Hockey Club is now in control of the first wild-card spot with 15 points.
While it's still early in the season, the squad being on the playoff bubble is exactly where a lot of us so-called "experts" thought they would be.
But it's the way they've done it that should be more impressive.
They've put up four or more goals in five of their six victories this year, with wins over St. Louis and Calgary giving glimpses of how good they can be on both ends of the ice.
They've also rallied for wins at Madison Square Garden and at home against big, bad Boston, showing they can play an up-and-down game and a tight-checking slugfest.
And yes, they've shown grit and toughness: after blowing a 4-1 lead against San Jose, they responded by exerting their pound of flesh on the Flames.
A 6-5-3 start may be nothing to sneeze at, but when you consider they've done it with losing their top two defencemen, giving their fans an uncomfortable roller-coaster ride at times, and even questions about their head coach's future (which are quieted for now), it should be a remarkable accomplishment.
With four brutal games coming up against top-tier opponents, it's time for Utah to check off another box on the list:
Show the league what we're made of.
Your true colours come out during playoff time, and we've already seen how the Delta Center can quite literally change the outcome of a game.
Every game at that barn has felt like a playoff game, and the fans want to see their team respond.
The first test comes tomorrow at Nashville, and I'll be along for ride at every game after.
This truly is the place for hockey. Brigham Young was right.