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WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Utah Hockey Club goalie Karel Vejmelka has had some bad luck this season.
The backup goaltender has now been on the ice for 11 periods this season, and Utah has scored just once in those nearly four full games. In the other nine games, the Hockey Club has averaged 4 goals per game.
The latest example? The Winnipeg Jets' 3-0 win over Utah Tuesday at Canada Life Centre.
Vejmelka saved 25 of 27 shots, but that wasn't enough against the scorching hot Jets, who improved to an NHL-best 12-1-0 on the season. Utah dropped to 5-5-3 with the loss.
"We had our game plan; we tried our best to stick to it," forward Lawson Crouse said. "I think we improved a lot in the second period. I think we could be a little bit more selfish at times and shoot the puck a little bit more, but, yeah, it ultimately came down to a special teams battle, and we lost that one tonight."
Winnipeg came into the game with the best power play in the league. Utah came oh-so-close to slowing it down.
Late in the second period, with the game still scoreless, Winnipeg's Gabriel Vilardi scored with just five seconds left on a power play.
That goal came after a long sustained pressure in the offensive zone where Utah couldn't clear the puck, and tired legs eventually led to a mistake.
"They didn't score on their first opportunity; they wear us down, wear us down," André Tourigny said. "At the end of the power play, they got a one shot and they score. If you look how we played the PK was excellent. But when you're tired, you get one seam, and the puck ends up in the back of the net."
Utah couldn't replicate that type of pressure when it had the chance. The Hockey Club had four chances on the man advantage and came up empty each time.
Tourigny pointed out that Utah lost too many battles for the puck in the offensive zone to be able to generate the type of pressure to either get good shots on net or force a Winnipeg mistake. In fact, on its first power play opportunity, Utah didn't even get a shot on goal.
"We need more good looks, and that will come from better entries and winning battles," Tourigny said. "When we're under pressure, we'll lose the battle, and then it's a clear. … We need to win more battles, so we have second and third chances."
Utah did have a great chance for an equalizer in the closing moments of the second period as Dylan Guenther popped the puck free in the neutral zone, leading to a two-on-one break for Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley.
Keller faked a pass to Cooley, hoping to free up a hole, but the Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck didn't bite and Keller's shot was denied.
Winnipeg's Nino Niederreiter scored twice in the third period (the second on an empty netter) to put the game away.
The game, though, provided some tough lessons for the Utah side, which was outshot 28-21 on the night.
"I think we're trying to do a little bit too much with the puck," Tourigny said. "When you play against a team with super structure, it's tough. So you need to go with shot volume, broken play, and get on the forecheck. Those are the areas where you can get them destabilized, and then the play opens up."
Things got better as the game went on (Utah had just 13 shots on goal through the first two periods), but, like Vejmelka is growing more and more accustomed to, that didn't lead to any goals.
"I feel bad for him, he was really good," Tourigny said. "Now it's the third time he goes in and we don't support him offensively. I feel really bad for him because he played really solid."
