Well Utah fans, there have been a lot of firsts for Utah this inaugural season: the first goal ever by Dylan Guenther, its first win, a 5-2 home win against the Chicago Blackhawks, and even its first …
Well Utah fans, there have been a lot of firsts for Utah this inaugural season: the first goal ever by Dylan Guenther, its first win, a 5-2 home win against the Chicago Blackhawks, and even its first ever fight between Utah’s Sean Durzi and Chicago’s Connor Murphy.
But at the end of the 2024-25 season, Utah will not go to its first-ever postseason appearance after the Minnesota Wild’s 8-7 win against the San Jose Sharks officially eliminated Utah Hockey Club from the playoffs.
While many predicted the Wild would win easily against the league’s worst team in San Jose, the Sharks came ready to play, delivering a surprisingly competitive, back-and-forth game that gave Utah hope its playoff chances might stay alive for another day.
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Even after the Wild went up 7–4 early in the third period—with center Joel Eriksson Ek remarkably scoring four of the goals —the scoring didn’t stop. The Sharks responded with three unanswered goals, including a game-tying goal in the final minute to force overtime.
But in the end, the return of Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov would prove triumphant as he would secure overtime winner not only sealed the Wild’s victory over the Sharks, it officially dashed any remaining hope Utah had of reaching the postseason.
The win moves Minnesota nine points ahead of Utah in the standings, making it statistically impossible for Utah to catch up, as it can earn a maximum of only eight points across its remaining four games.
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Missing the playoffs will certainly sting for Utah, especially after remaining competitive and in the playoff race this late into the season.
But with such a young core and much of the roster already re-signed for next season, Utah is in a position to build off the success of its inaugural campaign.
Plus, with a full season under its belt at the Delta Center and all six of its defensemen finally playing together consistently toward the end of the year, there’s plenty for Utah fans to look forward to next season.
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With key young pieces like Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, and Josh Doan likely to take another step forward, fans can feel confident in the team’s direction. The stability of the roster looks intact and poised to improve, making a playoff berth a realistic goal for the 2025–26 season.
Add in the unpredictability of free agency and the potential for trades, along with incoming talent from the NHL Draft, and Utah’s future looks bright for a team that came close to the postseason despite enduring one of the league’s worst home records in the first half of the season.
Along with Utah, the Vancouver Canucks also were officially eliminated from the playoffs because of the Wild’s win.
After pulling off one of the most improbable wins in NHL history—scoring three empty-net goals in the span of one minute to force overtime before defeating the Dallas Stars 6–5—Vancouver was ironically eliminated from playoff contention due to having fewer regulation wins than the St. Louis Blues.
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Still, becoming the first team in NHL history to mount a three-goal comeback in the final minute and go on to win is an incredible feat by the Canucks, even if it was a lack of regulation wins that ultimately ended their playoff hopes.
Though the offseason and draft await both Utah and Vancouver, each team still has a few games left in the season. Whether they’ll be playing for pride or slightly better draft positioning remains to be seen, but neither team is likely to go down without a fight.
Utah’s last home game of the season is against the Nashville Predators Thursday, April 10.
Source: Utah News