Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Tampa Bay's trip to Utah ended with a 6-4 loss to Utah Hockey Club.
- Logan Cooley scored twice, becoming the fifth U.S.-born player with multiple 20-goal seasons.
- Cooley's performance earned him a $250,000 bonus, aiding Utah's playoff aspirations.
SALT LAKE CITY — Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper was having a great trip to Utah.
On Friday morning, he and his staff went up to Park City to check out the ski hills and walk down Main Street. No, the coach didn't strap on skis himself — he stated he was a "sun snob now" and that it looked like "a lot of effort to get into all that gear" — but he enjoyed watching his staff slide down some hills.
"Didn't want to leave, but had to leave if we wanted to come back and watch the Jazz," the two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach said before Tampa Bay's first game in Utah. "Went to the Jazz game, had a blast; they treated us unbelievably. So it's been a great trip."
The Utah hospitality, though, ran out on Saturday afternoon.
Led by two goals from Logan Cooley, the Utah Hockey Club beat the Lightning 6-4 at the Delta Center to keep pace in a crowded playoff chase.
Cooley scored late in the first period to make it 2-0 to reach the 20-goal plateau, and then broke a 3-3 tie in the second period with his second goal of the night.
The budding star became the fifth active U.S.-born player to record multiple 20-goal seasons at 20 years old or younger. The others? Brady Tkachuk, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel and Patrick Kane. If that list is any indication, big things are ahead for Cooley.
And that's why head coach André Tourigny is reluctant to even imagine what his prime could look like.
"One thing I learned early is you don't put a lid on the ceiling," he said. "So whatever is the ceiling, he needs to keep working and being the best version of himself and push his own limit. And his ceiling, we'll see."
After scoring the game-winning goal in Vancouver on Sunday to break an uncharacteristic scoring drought, Cooley said it felt like the "weight of the world" was off him. Since then, he has scored 5 points in the last three games. He's playing lighter and more free, and it's showing on the scoresheet.
"I think getting that goal, it allows you to get some confidence back and allows you to get back to your game, and what makes me the player I am," he said. "It's one of those things where it just seems like it's going my way right now, and you've got to take advantage of that."
He did that on Saturday.
His first goal came when he trailed Michael Kesselring on a breakaway. Kesselring's attempt was blocked but Cooley was there for the rebound to give Utah a two-goal lead in the first. His second tally, though, may have been even more crucial.
Moments after Tampa had tied the game 3-3 via a Jake Guentzel strike in the second period, Cooley deflected a John Marino pass into the net to give Utah the lead again.
That type of quick response was the norm for The Club on Saturday.
Alexander Kerfoot had a similar response earlier in the period, tapping in a Kevin Stenlund pass to give Utah a 3-2 lead less than a minute after Tampa had leveled the score.
"We talk about moments a lot, moments in games, and those are end of periods, after goals, special teams, that type of thing," said Kerfoot, who added an empty-net goal to seal the game in the final minute. "And we did a great job of that tonight. A couple big goals after Tampa scores can really kind of deflate their momentum a little bit and get it back."
Nick Schmaltz and Josh Doan also scored for The Club which has now won 7 of its last nine games at home. While all of the goals helped Utah win — only one was truly profitable.
Cooley's 20th goal of the year triggered a $250,000 bonus. He admitted that, yes, that was in the back of his mind — he is on an entry-level contract after all — but he cared more about just trying to stay in the postseason chase.
"You're scoring to help the team win," Cooley said. "Individual success is nice, but it's just two big goals that get us the win."
