BS-Divison with tightest playoff spot race Through 30 games, Utah Hockey Club (14-11-5) has been trending upwards due to its record-breaking win streak. Over the course of the entire history of the NHL, there had never been a team that won six straight road games in its first season of existence. That all changed Sunday as Utah Hockey Club Captain Clayton Keller hit a last-minute game winner against the San Jose Sharks (11-17-5) to go up 4-3. Overall, the month of December has been a good one for Utah Hockey Club as it has gone 4-1-1 so far. Its losses aren't bad either as it lost to the Dallas Stars (18-11-0) 2-1 and the Minnesota Wild (20-7-4) 5-4 in a shootout loss. Both of these teams are currently top-three teams in the Western Conference. Previously, the longest road winning streak for a team in its inaugural season was a five- game win streak by the 1967-68 North Stars. Before the recent streak, Utah was both sub .500 in its road games and its overall record. So the road wins not only brought history to the new franchise, but it has also helped the team stay in the hunt for a Wild Card position. On the flip side, it has been over a month since Utah has been able to get a win at home with its last home win happening against the Carolina Hurricanes (19-10-1) on Nov. 13. It came very close to breaking the slump in the shootout loss to the Wild in its most recent home game, but instead, its streak extended to six straight home losses. When a team has two unlikely streaks, the question isn't if it'll win the next game, but rather which streak will end first? It seems more likely that Utah Hockey Club can get its first home win simply because its next game is at home against the Vancouver Canucks (15-9-5) this upcoming Wednesday. When the Canucks come into Salt Lake City, it will have also played six home games in a row prior to its first season matchup against Utah, meaning it will have not faced a hostile crowd in a while. While a win at home seems likely for Utah Hockey Club in its upcoming games, it is important to note that the Canucks have been great on the road with a 10-2-1 record, so it will be a tough team to break the losing streak against. There will also be a tough road game after the Canucks with Utah playing against Minnesota this Friday. It'll be sure to be a tough challenge to an Utah team seeking to build on its record breaking streak. Luckily for Utah's fans, the team should have extra motivation to win as it will get a chance to not only get revenge for its recent shootout lost against one of the top teams in the conference, but Utah will also be looking to keep adding to history as it seeks that seventh consecutive road win. Besides Friday’s road game, Utah's plays four of its next five games at home, so even if Utah loses, it is very likely to pull off a win in front of its fans and break its losing streak. There's no telling which streak will end first, especially against these matchups, but any Utah Hockey Club fan can rest easy knowing that their team is currently on the right side of history. The Utah Hockey Club will face off against the Canucks on Wednesday with an 8 p.m. MT starting time. You can stream it either on ESPN+ or on UtahHC+, Utah's streaming site, or watch on air on Utah 16.
