The Utah Hockey Club and the Philadelphia Flyers started the weekend with different kinds of momentum.
Utah is hoping to carry the energy from a strong win into Sunday’s game against Philadelphia, which is looking to recover from a tough loss.
The Utah Hockey Club just won 5-2 on the road against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, scoring five unanswered goals after Buffalo opened the scoring.
“It feels like an important win,” said Utah coach Andre Tourigny, who got his 100th NHL win in his 272nd game. “I think it was good, important for us to start that trip the right way. We had a good break. We had five days off, so it’s always tough to get going after that. I like the way the guys played, especially the first two periods. … I like the way we played offensively and defensively.”
Defenseman Michael Kesselring, who had a goal and an assist, and forward Nick Schmaltz, who scored a goal and led the team with five shots, both had strong performances.
“It’s good for the confidence,” Kesselring said. “I felt like we’ve played well the last five or six games now, so (it’s important to keep) the momentum going.”
The Flyers are dealing with the opposite feeling after giving up a 3-1 lead in the third period and losing 4-3 in overtime to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
It was the second straight game where the Flyers let a late-game lead slip away, as they had led the Florida Panthers 5-4 in their last game before losing 7-5.
“We’ve got to learn from our mistakes,” Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier said. “This is two games where we take stupid penalties, give the other team a chance to come back, and we did it again today.”
Despite the recent struggles, Flyers coach John Tortorella remains confident in his team, which had gone 4-0-1 before the two-game losing streak.
“It’s never a question with me about our fight,” Tortorella said. “That’s a given within our room here. So, that’s what keeps us afloat. That’s the only way we’re going to stay afloat in this league is that — it’s the will and not willing to give in.”
The Flyers have four of their next seven games at home before a tough six-game road trip.
“We’re a good team and we expect to win every game,” Philadelphia defenseman Cam York said. “So, to lose that one, obviously it hurts. But we’ve got an opportunity to come back (Sunday) and, hopefully, come out on top.”
The Flyers will certainly be keeping an eye on Utah’s Dylan Guenther, who leads the team with 10 goals, and Clayton Keller, who has the most points with 23. Guenther is on a four-game goalless streak, and Keller has been quieter lately, with one goal and three assists in his last six games.
“It’s huge. Obviously, we want to get away with four points here,” said Kevin Stenlund, one of Utah’s goal scorers against Buffalo, about the team’s two-game road trip. “Big game (Sunday). Focus on that and move on.”
