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SALT LAKE CITY — Realistically speaking, the Utah Hockey Club is out of the playoff races.
Thanks to a late surge by the red-hot St. Louis Blues and a pair of losses in the Sunshine State — an 8-0 smashing at the hands of Tampa Bay and a 2-1 overtime defeat to Florida — Utah is effectively eliminated from the postseason.
Still, as the team's performance against Chicago on Sunday — a 5-2 road victory — showed, there are still plenty of things left for many players on the team to play for.
Heading into the final stretch of home games in its inaugural season, SLC Puck Austin Facer is optimistic that the team will use this opportunity to reward its fans with some spirited performances. Not to mention, the remaining eight games, including the last five at the Delta Center, give several players an opportunity to audition for a role with the next season.
Facer doesn't expect the team to phone it in anytime soon, even with the playoffs essentially out of reach.
SLC Puck! is a twice-weekly podcast on Utah's hockey scene hosted by local hockey expert Austin Facer. You can subscribe to SLC Puck's YouTube channel here. Facer also co-hosts the NashCast, the Utah Hockey Club's alt-cast starring NHL funnyman Tyson Nash, available exclusively on SEG+ or Utah HC+.
