Discipline has been a concern for the Utah Hockey Club in the first 22 games of the season. Penalties can win or lose a game for teams and Utah is fortunate to only be one game below .500. That is largely because their penalty kill was able to limit some of the damage caused by the penalties. There are ways Utah can fix this issue, but they need to figure it out quickly before things get worse. If Utah can’t get the number of penalties under control, it’s going to be a long and difficult season for the league’s newest team.
The Reason for Concern
Since the start of the season, Utah has had lots of trouble staying out of the penalty box. The team currently leads the league in average penalty minutes with 12.5 per game. Maveric Lamoureux leads the team in penalty minutes. The 20-year-old rookie defenceman has committed 42 penalty minutes this season. That’s a high number for just one player this early. Whether it’s because of careless stick checks, or bad timing and positioning, Utah’s frequent trips to the penalty box have become tedious.
For Utah, this has led to untimely goals against and a shift in momentum away from the team, setting frustration on the bench. A power play is an opportunity for the opponent and when a team is undisciplined, it affects the flow of the game. One example is their game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Utah had a 2-0 lead and then gave up two straight power play goals, ultimately losing 4-2. Also, top players like Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther are unable to get on the ice when the team is always on the penalty kill. Not exactly a recipe for victory.
Penalty Kill Under Siege
With all the penalties, Utah’s penalty kill has been forced to do some heavy lifting. Their penalty kill sits at 77.4%, which is in a tie for 21st in the league. Despite this, the pk group have done a great job limiting the damage caused by Utah’s undisciplined play. Nine players on the team have 10 or more penalty minutes and it’s made life more difficult for the penalty killers. As a team, Utah has 275 total penalty minutes this season and have given up only 19 power play goals. Granted that includes five-minute majors for fighting or other misconducts, but the number is still a problem. Utah hasn’t scored a shorthanded goal yet. Their penalty kill percentage is still below league average, but the season is still young.
Prior to Tuesday’s win against the Montreal Canadiens, Utah gave up at least one power play goal in seven straight games, only winning in two. In six of those games, the team had 11 or more penalty minutes. It’s clear that when Utah takes a significant amount of penalties, the opposing team likely wins. That should be the case for any team, unless the penalty kill steals games, but it usually doesn’t work that way. Utah has their penalty kill to thank, or they could be a lot lower in the standings right now.
How to Address It
There are plenty of ways Utah can fix their discipline and stay out of the box. First, team defence has to improve. Utah needs to make quicker decisions in transition from defence to offence with clean breakout passes to avoid turnovers. It also prevents long defensive zone shifts, where a penalty is more likely to be committed. Next, players should pick which puck battles to engage in. Containing the puck carrier rather than always trying to make contact prevents the most common penalties, tripping, slashing, hooking, or high-sticking. If Utah can perfect their bad habits, then the number of penalties should slow up.
Main Photo: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images
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