Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Clayton Keller fell to the ice, blood tricking down his face.
The Utah Hockey Club captain had taken a puck to the face after Michael Kesselring's shot deflected off a Winnipeg Jet and beelined right above his right eye.
About 20 minutes and 12 stitches later, he was in front of the net as the Hockey Club scored its first goal of a 5-2 win over the West-leading Winnipeg Jets.
"That's a hockey player, huh?" head coach André Tourigny said with a smile.
He sure looked like one following the game. Well, that or a prize fighter — and probably more the latter. Keller's right eye was heavily swollen and the blood from the stitched wound still fresh.
The play occurred early in the second period with the game still scoreless. Kesselring had shot from distance, and really was just looking to get a puck on the net. But when it went off a stick, Kessler was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Keller was in pain, sure, but he also had hope that things weren't too bad.
"I got lucky it didn't catch my eye," Keller said. "It happened so fast. But I tried to look through my eye and I knew I could, so I wasn't really too worried after that."
Soon enough, he was lying on his back in the training room getting stitched up.
"I don't know the exact number (of stitches), but I know they did some on the inside and then more on the outside. I think around like 12?" Keller said. "I got lucky."
He might have a different definition of lucky than most people do, but it all set up for a memorable return.
Later in the period, Keller was back on the ice, drawing an emotional cheer from the Delta Center crowd. That wouldn't be the last time he'd get those fans to rise to their feet, either.
POSTGAME
— Utah Hockey Club PR (@UtahHC_PR) January 21, 2025
"You keep doing the right things, you're going to win. So it's good to see us get a couple wins before we go on the road." @utahhockeyclub Clayton Keller on finishing the homestand with two big wins pic.twitter.com/bAzhm2P7KW
On one of his first shifts back, Keller stormed to the front of the net as Olli Määttä fired a shot from the point. With Keller screening the play — and trying to get his stick onto the puck — Määttä's shot found the back of the net to open the scoring on the night.
It might have been Määttä's goal — his first with Utah, no less — but everyone celebrated like it was Keller's (it was even announced as such). It was a storybook moment. Why let facts get in the way?
"He came back on in his first shift, no hesitation ... right at the net, and got rewarded," Tourigny said. "Not just coming back, coming back without hesitation, without a doubt in his head, that was great."
Indeed, and inspired by its captain's new prize-fighter look, Utah's offense looked downright unstoppable.
The Hockey Club scored three more goals against Connor Hellebuyck, the current favorite for the Hart Trophy as league MVP — and they were some beauties.
Logan Cooley beat Hellebuyck on a breakaway with a no-look shot; Josh Doan dug out a puck and then sent a pretty pass to Barrett Hayton who finished it off; Hayton and Doan then combined for a masterclass rush, passing it around to set up an easy strike for Matias Maccelli.
Doan was quick to credit Keller for the surge.
"I think it does a lot for the bench knowing that he's willing to do that, come back and go right back to the net front next shift and get rewarded," Doan said. "It's one of those things where it's part of the game, but you hate to see it happen. And for him to bounce back like that was huge for us and our momentum. And, obviously, you heard the crowd's reaction; it meant a lot to them, too."
Keller capped off the night by getting an empty-net tally to get his team-high 16th of the night.
And after Monday, he probably leads the team in stitches, too.
"I think anyone else on this team would have came back, as well," Keller said. "But it's great to hear that from the crowd. They've been awesome all year through the ups and downs. And it's nice to get some wins here at home before we go on the road."
Even if that did take getting a pretty gnarly cut over his eye.
