At first glance, the Utah Hockey Club played a perfect game on Thursday. But the stats suggest there was lots of room for improvement.

Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) and goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) hug after a win over the Minnesota Wild of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) St. Paul, Minn. • Utah Hockey Club has had this week circled on the calendar.

Now that the Utah Hockey Club has figured out how to win games at home, it’s hitting the road again. Up first are the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are 1-3-0 in their last four games, but they’re still the second-placed team in the Central Division and the fourth-best team in the Western Conference overall.

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,

Being the fifth-overall pick in the 2018 draft, Hayton has always had big expectations on his shoulders. He didn’t immediately turn into a first-line center, which drew him some criticism early in his career. Now, in his sixth NHL season, he’s showing that he’s a reliable two-way forward who can play up and down a lineup.

Despite the injury, Keller returned to help Utah win 5-2 against Winnipeg. Keller's resilience inspired teammates, contributing to Utah's offensive surge. The Utah Hockey Club captain had taken a puck to the face after Michael Kesselring's shot deflected off a Winnipeg Jet and beelined right above his right eye.

When they woke up on Monday, the Utah Hockey Club was 7-11-4 at home. Their Monday opponents, the Winnipeg Jets, were 13-8-0 on the road. Naturally, the second-place Jets were the heavy favorites in the game at the Delta Center.