Barrett Hayton's late goal leads Utah to 2-1 win over Sharks – Hockey Writer – Utah Hockey Club
Friday night brings us to a showdown between two of the coldest teams in the NHL. Utah Hockey Club has lost six of its last seven games as it hosts the San Jose Sharks, who have lost nine of their last 11 games.
game review
The Sharks wasted no time in opening the scoring on Friday night, with Fabian Zetterlund scoring his 12th goal of the season just 58 seconds into the first period. However, that would be the only goal of the quarter as the Sharks took a 1-0 lead in the first period. Fun fact: This is only the second time this season that Alexander Georgiev's team (Sharks/Colorado Avalanche) has won its first game in 26 starts.
Utah tied the game six minutes into the second period. Utah kept the Sharks in their defensive zone, and the extended pressure allowed Nick Schmaltz to take the puck from the outside into the slot for his 12th goal of the season.
🚨 Nick Schmaltz! All tied up in the Delta Center! pic.twitter.com/be0EIVm29j
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) January 11, 2025
Schmaltz's goal was the only goal of the second period. As you would expect with the score going into the final period at 1-1, the first 40 minutes of this game were relatively slow. The Jazz and Sharks had a total of only 28 shots and 29 scoring opportunities in the first two quarters, which was 3 fewer than the expected goals.
The third period was much of the same story until Barrett Hayton scored on a goal against Georgiev's glove with a minute and a half left to give Utah a 2-1 lead. Despite receiving a four-minute high-stick penalty with a minute left in the game, Utah ended the first minute of the six-on-four contest after the Sharks pulled their goalie and won by a goal.
Barrett Hayton scored in the final two minutes @utah hockey club victory! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ZtRToZylpP
— NHL (@NHL) January 11, 2025
This game marked the end of the season series for both teams. All three games were decided by one goal, with Utah winning two of the three games. All three games have been filled with emotion and physicality; it will be interesting to see if this head-to-head matchup turns into a rivalry in future seasons as both teams try to emerge from their rebuilds.
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