Clayton Keller's 18th goal of the season not enough as Utah falls, 3-1, in Ottawa

The Utah Hockey Club has played better games than the one it had on Sunday. Here's what went wrong, in addition to some things it did well.

Extends impressive streak

But the way hockey players respond to those injuries is what makes them a unique brand of tough, and Utah Hockey Club Captain Clayton Keller showed us all what that looked like on Jan. 20. In the second period of a game against the Winnipeg Jets at Delta Center,

Clayton Keller has been reliable on offense for the Utah Hockey Club this season. Keller has scored 9 points in the last four games, including a four-point night against the St. Louis Blues. He contributed 30 points in Utah's wins and has a +13 rating. Even in losses, Keller has managed to score 18 points.

Playing in front of USA's Four Nation Face-off general manager Bill Guerin (whose day job is being the GM of the Wild), Keller delivered a beauty of a goal, skating across the offense zone before whipping a shot short side to beat Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson in the first period.

After receiving an inadvertent puck to the face from teammate Michael Kesselring, Clayton Keller immediately went to the locker room. When he checked back in at 4:40 in the second period, Utah's offense would come to life and score four goals in a row on route to its 5-2 victory.

The Utah Hockey Club captain took Michael Kesselring’s point shot to the face early in the second period and ran straight for the locker room. “I got lucky, it didn’t catch my eye,” Keller said. “When it happened,

Utah captain Clayton Keller went to the locker room a minute into the second period against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night after a puck struck him the face.

This was Keller's fourth multi-point effort during his six-game point streak. In that span, he has three goals and nine assists. The 26-year-old winger is up to 17 goals, 36 helpers, 114 shots on net and a minus-2 rating over 47 appearances this season.

Dylan Guenther, who scored both of Utah’s goals on Dec. 20, is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Mikhail Sergachev, who had three assists in those two games, is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear whether he’ll be ready to play Thursday.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) shoots the puck against St. Louis Blues left wing Pavel ...