Game preview, 12/27: Utah Hockey Club vs. Colorado Avalanche

WHEN: 7:30 PM MT

WHERE: Delta Center – Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: ESPN2 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, NHL App

The Utah Hockey Club (16-12-6) renews a Rocky Mountain rivalry tonight with the Colorado Avalanche (21-15-0). Tonight is already the third game of the season between Utah and Colorado, and it was Utah that last claimed victory in a 4-1 final at Ball Arena on December 12. Utah's 3-2 loss on Dec. 23 was the team's first regular-season loss in three weeks, and the club has won six of its last nine games tonight.

ONE-TIME

• Captain Clayton Keller leads the team with 36 points (13G, 23A).
• Utah currently sits fifth in the Central Division with 38 points and is just one game away from a playoff spot (second wild card position, currently held by Dallas).
• Utah had a season-long eight-game losing streak that was broken on December 23 in a 3–2 loss to the Dallas Stars.
• Barrett Hayton has goals in back-to-back games.
• Each of Utah's last seven losses has been by just one goal.

MATCH TONIGHT

The Avalanche are progressing with wins in each of their last three games and seven wins in their last ten games. In Colorado, Nathan MacKinnon is the reigning Hart Trophy winner and current league scoring leader, leading the NHL with 57 points (14G, 53A). Star defenseman Cale Makar ranks ninth in the league and is tied for first among all NHL blueliners with 45 points (11G, 34A). On December 9, Colorado traded to acquire goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks. In the four games Blackwood played for the Avs, he was stellar with a 3-1-0 record, 2.03 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.

WHO TO WATCH

UTAH: #27 BARRETT HAYTON – Hayton, 24, scored goals in back-to-back games for the third time this season and now has 16 points (7G, 9A) on the campaign for Utah. Hayton skates as Utah's top line center between Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz.

COLORADO: #13 VALERI NICHUSHKIN – Nichushkin has scored goals in four straight games for the Avs and is now tied for second on the team with 11 games played this season. He has reached this goal total while appearing in just 19 games this season, and he has a total of 16 points on the campaign (11G, 5A).

FINAL MEETING

Utah defeated their Central Division foe 4-1 on December 12 at Ball Arena. Dylan Guenther scored twice, including once on the power play, and Vladislav Kolyachonok lit the lamp in his first game since November 24. Kevin Stenlund provided the empty-netter to seal the victory and record a goal in his fourth consecutive game. game. Karel Vejmelka finished the night with 22 saves on 24 Avalanche shots.

LOOK BACK

Utah lost 3-2 to Dallas on Monday, December 23 at Delta Center. After the Stars took a 1-0 lead midway through the first, Kevin Stenlund quickly answered back with his sixth goal of the year to tie the game. 1-1 just 1:39 after Dallas took its first lead. The Stars scored two more in the second period, outscoring Utah 16-6. Utah attempted a third-period comeback and came within one after Barrett Hayton recorded his seventh total of the season, but the effort would fall short. Dallas goalie Casey DeSmith picked up his second win of the season against Utah by stopping 24 of 26 shots, and Karel Vejmelka was handed the loss after making 26 saves on 29 Stars shots.

CENTRAL DIVISION MATCHES

The NHL's Central Division is perhaps the toughest in the league. Six teams in the division are at .500 or better, a mark shared by no other division. Division games, like tonight's, are doubly important for playoff positioning. Utah has a 4-5-1 record against Central Division teams, while Colorado is 3-5-0 against the rest of the division. Tonight is the 11th of a total of 26 Central Division games Utah will play this season. The top three teams in each division automatically qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Avalanche currently occupy the third spot in the Central table with 42 points (each conference also has two wildcard spots). Utah has 38 points this season and is four points behind Colorado (with two games remaining).

MIKHAIL SERGACHEV

Mikhail Sergachev may not have the flashy numbers that Colorado's Cale Makar boasts, but Utah's No. 1 running back has played a big role in the team's success this season. Sergachev plays as much hockey as anyone in the NHL and ranks second in the league with an average of 25:53 of ice time per game. His 26 points (8G, 16A) rank first among all Utah defensemen and place him tied for eighth among a defenseman in the NHL. He is also tied with Makar for the most game-winning goals by a defenseman with three. The 26-year-old is the only blueliner in the NHL this season to score multiple overtime goals, in Montreal on Nov. 26 and at home against Vancouver on Dec. 18.

LOOK AHEAD

Tonight concludes three consecutive home games for Utah, after which the club heads on the road for four consecutive games. Utah meets the Seattle Kraken and the Edmonton Oilers on December 30 and 31, respectively, and then opens their 2025 calendar with games against the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars on January 2 and 4.