Mar 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Utah Hockey Club right wing Kailer Yamamoto (56), 2nd from right, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/233cd7a3-87cb-45c1-9e68-219a0d1936b5.jpeg] Mar 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Utah Hockey Club right wing Kailer Yamamoto (56), 2nd from right, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images After avenging its previous loss to the Chicago Blackhawks with a 5-2 win, instead of facing another Connor Bedard overtime game-winner like last time, Utah returns home for a crucial five-game homestand, which it must take advantage of for its playoff push. While Utah managed to pick up three points on its latest road trip, going 1-1-1, the St. Louis Blues keep winning, having won nine straight, making Utah’s situation increasingly dire. At this point, it's do-or-die for Utah. Utah can’t afford any more losses and will need the Blues to go from dominant to a complete collapse if Utah has any hope of shrinking St. Louis’s nine-point lead to a one-point lead by the time Utah faces St. Louis in the season finale. That scenario, however, is pretty unlikely. After all, the Blues are more likely to overtake Minnesota’s playoff spot than fall out of contention entirely. Still, Utah must ignore the odds and focus on winning every night. Perfection will be hard to obtain, but with everyone witnessing St. Louis go on the second-best run of the season, just behind Winnipeg's 11-game win streak, Utah needs to believe that it can obtain the same success. In its game against the Blackhawks, Utah showcased the offensive firepower that was missing in recent losses to Tampa Bay and Florida, scoring three of its goals, including a deflected goal from Alexander Kerfoot , off long-range shots that led to points. While Utah has struggled to find consistent offense, fluctuating between six-goal games and barely managing to score in recent games, it will need all of its moving parts to come together to build a winning streak. The team will need production from its top players, including Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther, while also relying on its defensemen to stay strong, even without Olli Määttä in the lineup. Utah will also need to improve upon its power play production from the last ten games, where it has converted only 7.7% of its chances, which is third lowest in the NHL. Plus, if Utah’s defensemen can continue to provide meaningful offense as they did against Chicago, Utah’s offense will be much more formidable. On top of that, Utah must play smart hockey, avoiding giveaways in front of its own net and being more conscious of allowing breakaways through the middle of the neutral zone. Staying focused and preventing small mistakes from turning into goals for its opponent will be crucial if Utah wants to get a late winning streak of its own. One silver lining for Utah is that St. Louis has played one more game than Utah has this season. The gap between Utah and St. Louis is large, but it is slightly inflated due to that. It’ll still be a steep climb, with Utah needing to win virtually every game, but if it can string together three more victories than the Blues before the season finale against St. Louis, the gap could narrow, and Utah could sneak into the playoffs. Yet, St. Louis isn’t Utah’s only concern. Calgary and Vancouver also sit ahead in the playoff race, adding more pressure to Utah’s playoff push. The good news? Utah has a chance for a critical four-point swing, as its first home game back is against Calgary, a team currently four points ahead in the standings. Meanwhile, St. Louis will take on the Detroit Red Wings, who are fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While Utah can only hope Detroit can snap the win streak the Blues are on, a Utah win against Calgary could go a long way.
