Two teams desperate for a win will meet Tuesday in Salt Lake City when the Utah Hockey Club hosts the Philadelphia Flyers.
The teams are currently on a combined eight-game losing streak, though each team’s struggles have different causes. The Flyers arrive in Utah after being shut out in three straight games. The only other time this happened in the team’s history was during the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Ottawa Senators.
On Sunday, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Flyers 2-0. Goalie Samuel Ersson made 30 saves on 32 shots, a much better performance compared to his second-period pull in last Wednesday’s 5-0 loss at New Jersey, where he allowed four goals on 16 shots.
Scott Laughton was the last Flyers player to score, netting an empty-net goal with 15 seconds left in a 4-2 win against the Devils last Monday. Travis Konecny, the team’s leader with 21 goals and 37 assists (58 points), had four assists in the three games before the shutout streak began. However, the 27-year-old has not scored in his last seven games.
The Flyers average 27.3 shots per game, ranking 19th in the league with 1,472 shots on goal. In the three shutouts, they totaled just 71 shots, averaging 23.7 shots per game.
“I don’t think we’re developing as much as we had a couple of weeks ago,” said coach John Tortorella after the Colorado loss. “Had some chances… We just haven’t put the puck in the net.”
Utah’s problem during its five-game losing streak has been finishing games. In each of those losses, the first-year franchise allowed either a go-ahead or game-tying goal in the third period, resulting in a 0-3-2 record over that stretch.
Coach Andre Tourigny praised his team’s play earlier in the streak, but after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to St. Louis, he admitted the Blues outplayed them.
Tuesday’s game will wrap up a four-game homestand for Utah. Philadelphia is the first of four games the team will play this week before the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off break, which lasts nearly two weeks.
“It’s an extremely huge game for us against Philly,” Tourigny said. “We need the two points. We need to finish up that homestand at least (with four points in four games), hit the road, and have a hell of a road trip before the break. There’s no doubt about it.”
Clayton Keller leads Utah with 18 goals and 38 assists. He didn’t record any points in Sunday’s loss and has five points (one goal, four assists) during the losing streak.
Both teams are also dealing with injuries. The Flyers announced on Monday that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who left Sunday’s game early, is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Owen Tippett, the team’s third-leading scorer with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists), is also day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He has not played since leaving the loss to the Devils after less than seven minutes of ice time.
Utah is missing two of its top scorers. Dylan Guenther, who last played on January 8, ranks fourth on the team with 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists). He was day-to-day with a lower-body injury before Sunday’s game. Logan Cooley, second on the team with 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists), last played Wednesday against Pittsburgh and is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
