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SALT LAKE CITY — One thing was clear on Friday night: Not all hockey fans in Utah have converted to the state's new team.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights won over plenty of fans in Utah when they came into the league in 2017. A new squad in town didn't change those allegiances.
So, at least, some fans left happy on Friday.
Vegas forward William Karlsson scored on a deflection with 1:18 remaining and then closed the door with an empty-netter to help Las Vegas overcome a two-goal deficit to beat Utah 4-2 Friday at the Delta Center.
It was a stark contrast to two nights ago when Utah was the aggressor late in the game. That wasn't lost on the team's more experienced players.
"We kind of stayed back," Mikhail Sergachev said. "Should have done the same as we did to Carolina; just stay on them and play hard."
As it was, a promising start quickly evaporated into a defeat.
Logan Cooley scored his fourth goal of the season on a one-timer in the first period. The goal came after sustained pressure in the offensive zone where Utah continuously generated dangerous opportunities. Sergachev then doubled the Hockey Club's advantage in the second on a power play; that was his second goal in two games and fourth on the season.
All was well for Utah, but then Vegas came back.
Tomas Hertl scored on a power play goal in the second period and had an equalizer midway through the third.
"They didn't have their A-game in the first period," André Tourigny said of the Knights. "They just hang there. They hold us there, and then from there to just peck away, slowly but surely."
That's the difference between a veteran squad like Las Vegas and an inexperienced one like Utah. When the Knights were down there was no panic; and when the comeback happened, Utah didn't have an answer.
Sure, the youth played a role in that — young defenseman Maverick Lamoureux committed a penalty that led to Vegas's first goal. But so did the older players — Clayton Keller had a turnover that led to that penalty.
And the more experienced players not producing has been an alarming trend through the first month-plus of the season.
Nick Schmaltz is still looking for his first goal of the year, despite having a clean look early on. Lawson Crouse didn't register a point and hasn't scored since October. Keller, too, is in a scoring drought.
That's made it tough for Utah to extend — and ultimately keep — leads.
And that caught up to the Hockey Club against Vegas.
"It's the best league in the world, it's hard to win," said Keller, who did have an assist on Friday. "I'm learning, our team's learning. We have a lot of veteran guys that have won — and they've been great and sharing their knowledge on what it takes to be a winning team and to get to that next level. … We've got a long way to go, and we got to learn fast."
One of those former Stanley Cup winners said that Utah is respecting its opponent too much.
"We give them ice and give them the puck to play with," Sergachev said. "Instead, we should be the ones playing with the puck."
That's what Utah did against Carolina, leading to a surprise victory. Doing the opposite led to losing a lead.
"This one hurts," Keller said. "We were right there and everyone was feeling good, and we just made a couple of mistakes and it cost us."
It cost Utah the game and maybe some future fans, too.
The late cheers as the score became official showed how some fans were just fine sticking with the Knights.
"It was an awesome atmosphere," Keller said. "It's always fun to play in those games. When the crowds into it you know both teams have fans so it was a great atmosphere for sure."
