Lightning visit the Utah Hockey Club on 3-game win streak
Tampa Bay Lightning (40-23-5, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Utah Hockey Club (31-27-11, in the Central Division)
Salt Lake City; Saturday, 5 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning aim to keep their three-game win streak going when they visit the Utah Hockey Club.
Utah is 14-13-7 at home and 31-27-11 overall. The Utah Hockey Club rank 10th in league play with 261 total penalties (averaging 3.8 per game).
Tampa Bay has gone 16-15-3 in road games and 40-23-5 overall. The Lightning have gone 18-6-1 in games they convert at least one power play.
The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Logan Cooley has 19 goals and 32 assists for the Utah Hockey Club. Nick Schmaltz has five goals and five assists over the last 10 games.
Jake Guentzel has 33 goals and 31 assists for the Lightning. Gage Goncalves has three goals and one assist over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Utah Hockey Club: 5-3-2, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.4 assists, 3.9 penalties and 9.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
Lightning: 6-3-1, averaging three goals, five assists, 3.5 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Lightning: None listed.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Where Lightning's Victor Hedman Finished In Norris Trophy Voting
The final voting results for the Norris Trophy were released on June 11, and without much surprise, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar won the award. The 26-year-old had an incredible season with the Avs, scoring a career-high 30 goals and recording 90 points in 80 games. The voting results also revealed that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman finished fifth for the award. The Lightning captain received one second-place vote, 11 third-place votes, 55 fourth-place votes, and 38 fifth-place votes. He did not, however, receive one first-place vote for the award. Hedman finishing fifth in the Norris Trophy voting is certainly fair, as he had a strong 2024-25 campaign. In 79 games this season for the Bolts, the 6-foot-7 blueliner recorded 15 goals, 66 points, and a plus-18 rating. Advertisement Hedman previously won the Norris Trophy for the 2017-18 season, when he posted 17 goals, 63 points, and a plus-32 rating in 77 games for the Lightning. Photo Credit: © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar wins Norris Trophy after 30-goal season
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar wins Norris Trophy after 30-goal season Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar is the winner of the Norris Trophy for the second time in his career after setting franchise records in goals and points by a blueliner. He topped the Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski and Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Makar won his first award in 2021-22. He opened the season with a 13-game point streak, second-longest by a defenseman in NHL history behind Bobby Orr's 15, and went on to lead defensemen in goals (30), assists (62) and points (92). He became the first defenseman to reach the 30-goal mark since Mike Green in 2008-09. Makar received 176 first-place votes and 1,861 total points. Weresnki had 13 first-place votes and 1,266 points, and Hughes, last year's winner, had two and 918. Makar was surprised with the award during a golf outing. The NHL will announce the winners of the Hart Trophy (MVP to his team) and Vezina Trophy (goaltender) during an hourlong televised show on June 12 (6 p.m. ET, TNT) before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Hart Trophy finalists are Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers; Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets; and Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning Vezina Trophy finalists are Hellebuyck; Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings; and Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning Other NHL awards winners Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player): Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning Jack Adams Award (coach): Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals. Calder Trophy (rookie): Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens Selke Trophy (defensive forward): Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers Masterton Trophy (perseverance): Sean Monahan, Columbus Blue Jackets King Clancy Trophy (humanitarian contribution): Barkov Mark Messier Leadership Award: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
New York Times
10 hours ago
- New York Times
No, the Maple Leafs should not (and cannot) run it back: Mirtle mailbag
A couple weeks ago, we put out the call for mailbag questions from Maple Leafs fans after another disappointing playoff exit for Toronto. Subscribers didn't disappoint in contributing nearly 350 for us to filter through, something I plan on doing between now and free agency. We'll start with these two, which hit on a theme I've heard a lot since the Leafs were eliminated on May 18. Advertisement From Curtis P.: 'The core of the Leafs hasn't gotten it done yet, but every season is a new opportunity — just like rolling dice, past outcomes don't dictate future results. This team is different; they've grown, adapted, and learned. The right move isn't to dismantle everything, but to plug that second-line centre hole and tweak the depth. If the price is right, why not run it back with a team that's already shown it can compete at the highest level? The Atlantic Division is the toughest in the league, and if we can get through that, the sky's the limit. A few adjustments could be the key to finally breaking through.' From Danny A.: 'Are we holding the Leafs to different standards than other teams? Why isn't 'perennially in the mix in a league where anyone in the playoffs had as good a chance as any other' at least considered a mild success? Mitch Marner seems as good as gone, but it feels to me like re-signing him and keeping the core as a bridge to the rising cap (which was the original plan that a frozen cap killed) would be as good a plan as any.' Even though I've been around this team and fan base for a long, long time, I've been surprised how many of you want the status quo. Even after all of the losing. Even after the way they were eliminated in the second round this time around. If what happened this year — an ugly Game 7 loss in the second round against a terrific opponent — was happening for the first, or second, or even third or fourth time, then you could rationally argue to run things back. Leafs management did just that for years, after some really tough outcomes in the playoffs in the six seasons between 2019 and 2024. (I'm counting 2017 and 2018 as a young team going through growing pains and losing to more experienced opponents.) But as we sit here, three weeks out from free agency in 2025, we know that's not what has happened. The loss to the Panthers wasn't the second or third time something like this has occurred. It's not a new phenomenon for a talented Leafs core to no-show in two of the biggest games of the year. It has happened again and again and again in remarkably similar fashion. Advertisement The Leafs' core isn't young anymore. They aren't learning lessons. William Nylander is 29. Mitch Marner turned 28 during the playoffs, and Auston Matthews will join him there in September. Key veterans like Morgan Rielly and John Tavares are on the back nine of their careers at 31 and 34. Can we chalk up the implosions in Games 5 and 7 to bad luck that can be overcome with another roll of the dice? Are we sure these aren't loaded dice, set to land on snake eyes more often than not? Is next season a new opportunity if you attempt the same thing again, for an eighth consecutive season, with those five players making up the majority of your star power and cap space? And how can you be sure that's the right course of action when it hasn't been so many times before? We aren't holding the Leafs to a different standard than other teams. What they've done in running it back for so many years is unlike anything an unsuccessful franchise in pro sports has done. It's hard to find a good comparison for an organization keeping that much of its core together for that long with this little to show for it. (The closest comp would likely be the 2018 Washington Capitals who won the Stanley Cup after years of failed attempts, but even then, it was really only Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom and defenceman John Carlson who were together for seven-plus seasons before winning, which would be akin to keeping Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly — not all five members of the Leafs' core. The Mike Greens, Alexander Semins and Brooks Laichs weren't kept in Washington through that many years of postseason disappointment.) Most management groups in this situation would have pulled the plug on this configuration and tried to adapt three or four years ago. Certainly by 2023, when they still had an out to make major moves. Advertisement As for if being 'perennially in the mix' is considered a mild success, sure, we can call it that. These Leafs are a mild success! Nine consecutive years in the playoffs in the Matthews era, something no other NHL team has done. Tenth in playoff games played — and 11th in wins — since drafting him first overall. Two trips out of the first round and none past the second. But no one is arguing that the Leafs have been an unmitigated disaster the way they were previously. They're arguing that mild success isn't good enough, not when the goal is to win the Stanley Cup. They're arguing about what the best path forward is to be more than a mild success. How do they win it all? What do they need to get over the top, before the inevitable rebuild comes 'round again? Maybe you believe that's possible with this group. But what we're seeing in these big games is repeated evidence that something is wrong, and that gets reinforced when I talk to people behind the scenes. At this point, they very much agree they need a rethink. The GM isn't coming out after the postseason and saying his team needs to change 'some DNA' for show. This core has been kept together so long that it's become stale and dysfunctional, on and off the ice. They've been kept together so long that they don't even believe in themselves anymore. Think about it: If Marner truly believed they were right there, just about to break through, and there was a good chance of winning the Stanley Cup in his hometown with the Leafs, why wouldn't he have been willing to negotiate throughout the year for an eight-year deal worth massive money? Why did he seem so withdrawn and noncommittal? To me this goes beyond negotiating strategies and a players' camp trying to push for the maximum dollar figure on July 1. It's about something being fundamentally off, for Marner and for this organization. The strange thing is the player seemed to recognize it before management did, which puts the Leafs in a real bind. It appears almost certain at this point that they'll lose one of the best players in the NHL for very little in return, which is why some fans are getting cold feet about breaking up the core. Even if you believe this group needs change, these are hardly ideal circumstances under which to do it. Advertisement However, the next steps in Toronto shouldn't be the mass destruction of the roster. For one, that's not even going to be possible, not with free agency coming fast and so much of this group under contract, with no-movement and no-trade clauses. What GM Brad Treliving and his staff need to do instead is to try to identify how they can change the cast around the core members who stay in such a way that it resets the environment and allows them to be better in critical situations. Watch those playoff failures and analyze the team's shortcomings — not just with the core, but at every position, up and down the lineup. There are a lot of different ways the Leafs need to be better, but realistically, only some of them can be addressed this offseason. Assuming Marner is leaving, the change has to be focused on building a more well-rounded and less top-heavy roster, one that gets contributions down the lineup the way Florida has this postseason. One that can control play better and produce more offence when games get tight in the playoffs. That is going to be challenging with the Leafs' lack of trade assets, a weak free agent class, and the number of quality players Toronto needs to add, but challenging does not equal impossible. The best front offices in the league have made transformations like this in recent years — swapping out core players, making bold trades and underrated signings — and been better for it on the other side. The Panthers, for example, had terrific regular season success — winning the Presidents' Trophy in 2022 — but were swept in the second round and decided they needed to make major changes. Four of the eight biggest-minute players on that roster were gone the next offseason. They've continued to adapt and evolve over the last few years, adding key core pieces through trades and free agency, including Seth Jones, Brad Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk and Niko Mikkola. That's not to say the Leafs haven't changed. The blue line, especially, has undergone a dramatic makeover in a similar time frame, with defensive defenders Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe replacing T.J. Brodie and Jake Muzzin. But you'd be hard-pressed to call Toronto's moves a successful re-envisioning, given how similar (and how small) they look when up against a championship-level opponent in a playoff series. It's time to try something new, to cut deeper and ask the tough questions about why things haven't worked. Advertisement In an ideal world, the Leafs would have properly identified the need for this level of change before Marner was set to walk for nothing. We're going to be litigating the fallout of that for years to come, but that doesn't change the fact that trying the same thing again next season should have been out of the question either way. The only positive out of Marner's decision is it finally removes the 'run it back' option from the equation. It gives the Leafs a chance to reimagine what that $11 million in cap space can do for them in the playoffs if deployed differently, in support of the players who remain. And to acknowledge that mild success isn't good enough after nearly a decade of trying. (Top photo of Brad Treliving: Steve Russell / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
