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Utah Hockey Club (22-22-9, in the Central Division) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (26-21-7, in the Metropolitan Division)

Columbus, Ohio; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Utah Hockey Club visit the Columbus Blue Jackets after the Utah Hockey Club defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in overtime.

Columbus has a 26-21-7 record overall and a 17-5-3 record on its home ice. The Blue Jackets have gone 22-7-4 when scoring at least three goals.

Utah has a 22-22-9 record overall and a 13-10-3 record in road games. The Utah Hockey Club have allowed 155 goals while scoring 147 for a -8 scoring differential.

The teams match up Thursday for the second time this season. The Blue Jackets won 3-2 in overtime in the last meeting.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kent Johnson has scored 16 goals with 19 assists for the Blue Jackets. Adam Fantilli has six goals and three assists over the past 10 games.

Clayton Keller has 18 goals and 39 assists for the Utah Hockey Club. Barrett Hayton has scored four goals with seven assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jackets: 5-4-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.6 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.

Utah Hockey Club: 4-4-2, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.8 assists, 2.6 penalties and 7.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.

INJURIES: Blue Jackets: None listed.

Utah Hockey Club: None listed.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

John Tortorella’s Philadelphia Flyers (23-25-6) are in Salt Lake City on Tuesday to take on Andre Tourigny’s Utah Hockey Club (21-22-9). Game time at Delta Center is 9:00 p.m. EST.

The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 93.3 WMMR with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.

This is the second and final meeting of the season series between the teams. At Wells Fargo Center on December 8, the Flyers lost by a 4-2 score. Now-former Flyer Joel Farabee and left winger Owen Tippett scored in a losing cause. Michael Carcone, Juuso Välimäki, Logan Cooley (power play) and Kevin Stenlund (shorthanded) tallied for Utah.

Here are five things to watch in Tuesday’s game.

1. Ending the goal drought

The Flyers set an unwanted team record in Sunday’s 2-0 loss in Denver to the Colorado Avalanche. The team has been shut out in three consecutive games for the first time in regular season franchise history.

Philadelphia has gone 180 minutes and 15 seconds of play since their last goal (Scott Laughton empty netter at 19:45 of the third period against the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 27). The franchise record of 199 minutes and 43 seconds without scoring a goal was set over portions of four games from January 24, 2003 to January 30, 2003.

As long as the Flyers score a first period goal in Utah with the opening 19:43 of the frame, they will avoid the franchise’s longest regular season stretch of consecutive goalless minutes.

As a matter of historical record, the 199:43 goalless drought started immediately after a Kim Johnsson power play goal at 18:50 of the second period in a 3-1 home loss to the New York Islanders on January 24, 2003. The Flyers were shut out in a 1-0 overtime road loss to the Boston Bruins (60:30) the next night.

On January 28, the Flyers sustained a 3-0 home shutout loss at the hand of the Tampa Bay Lighting. Finally, on January 30, the Flyers sustained a 5-1 road shutout loss to the New Jersey Devils. At 18:02 of the third period, Eric Choiunard finished off a Mark Recchi setup to break up a Martin Brodeur shutout bid and finally bring the goalless drought to an end.

2. Silver lining: goalie play

The Flyers goalie play has been overshadowed amid the team’s offensive frustrations. However, it should not go without mention that Samuel Ersson turned in a very strong performance on Sunday in Colorado. Ersson stopped 30 of 32 shots, including several very difficult scoring opportunities. He had little chance of denying either Avalanche goal.

On Thursday, Ivan Fedotov turned in generally solid work in stopping 25 of 28 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Islanders. A coverage lapse in the defensive zone, a bad line change that caused an odd-man rush and a 4-on-4 goal represented the Islanders three goals.

Heading into Tuesday’s game in Salt Lake City, it’s a must for the Flyers team defense and goaltending to do their part and keep Philly in the game while the club tries to scratch out one goal to end the drought and then whatever additional goal support proves necessary to come away with a win.

3. All hands on deck

The Flyers remain shorthanded in personnel. Owen Tippett (upper-body injury) remains day-to-day, while Ryan Poehling (IR, upper body) has also not yet been cleared to play. It remains to be seen if Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, who were acquired on Thursday night in a deal with Calgary, will be available to play in this game. Rugged veteran Nicolas Deslauriers has been cleared to return from IR but is yet to be activated off IR.

On defense, Rasmus Ristolainen (undisclosed injury in Sunday’s game) is day-to-day but not expected to be available for Tuesday’s game. Egor Zamula is on IR. The Flyers dressed seven defensemen and 11 forwards at the start of the game in Colorado but were down to 6D/11F after Ristolainen had to leave the game in the second period.

Come game time, Jacob Gaucher is poised to play his second NHL game after making his debut on Sunday. Emil Andrae returned to the Flyers’ lineup in Denver after being recalled from Lehigh Valley. Veteran blueliner Erik Johnson also dressed in Sunday’s game.

4. Special teams

Last time the Philly played Utah HC, the Flyers had letdowns on both sides of special teams — yielding one power play goal and one shorthanded tally — in a game decided by two goals. The Flyers have been struggling since Thanksgiving on the penalty kill and most of the season (beyond the first eight games) on the power play.

Entering Tuesday’s match, the Flyers rank 28th in the NHL on the power play at 15.5 percent success. The penalty kill has tumbled to 20th (77.4 percent). Utah ranks 14th on the power play (22.2 percent) and tied for 7th on the PK (82.2 percent).

5. Behind Enemy Lines: Clayon Keller

Keller leads Utah in overall scoring (56 points including a team-best 38 assists) and in power play scoring (22 points, five power play goals, 17 power play assists). The playmaking forward has registered 13 career points (5g, 8a) in 13 games against the Flyers.

A very good skater who is both quick and elusive, Keller makes up for his lack of size with skill, hockey sense and creativity. He is especially adept and drawing defenders toward him and then saucering or threading a pass to an open teammate. The Flyers must be vigilant in limiting his time and space to make plays.

Utah’s 2025 schedule is officially here.

The Utes are embarking on their second season in the Big 12. After departing from the Pac-12, the finished with a 5-7 record in their new conference last year.

Kyle Whittingham is returning for his 21st season as Utah’s head coach. However, the Utes offense has been retooled with the hiring of former New Mexico offensive coordinator Jason Beck this offseason.

The Utes also picked up a bevy of offensive talent in the transfer portal, including New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier and Washington State running back Wayshawn Parker headlining the class.

Here’s a first look at Utah’s 2025 schedule:

at UCLA on Aug. 30

vs. Cal Poly on Sept. 6

at Wyoming on Sept. 13

vs. Texas Tech on Sept. 20

at West Virginia on Sept. 27

vs. Arizona State on Oct. 11

at BYU on Oct. 18

vs. Colorado on Oct. 25

vs. Cincinnati on Nov. 1

at Baylor on Nov. 15

vs. Kansas State on Nov. 22

at Kansas on Nov. 28 or 29

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 112-111 on Monday night for their fourth straight win.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 18 for the Pacers, who played without Myles Turner after the center was a late scratch due to an ankle injury. Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmith each had 13 points.

John Collins and Jordan Clarkson both scored 21 for the Jazz (11-37), who have dropped nine of 10.

Utah guard Collin Sexton sprained his left ankle in the opening minutes and did not return. Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George combined for 27 points and 21 assists but made errors down the stretch that showed their inexperience.

The Jazz led 101-89 on Collier’s 3-pointer with 6:52 to play, but were outscored 23-10 down the stretch as the Pacers turned up the pressure.

Takeaways

Pacers: Indiana had scored at least 130 points three games in a row but the Pacers’ long-range shooting deserted them (23.8% from 3). So they made their comeback by going inside and getting out in transition.

Jazz: Late-game mistakes cost Utah again. After Collins gave Utah its last lead at 106-105, the Jazz had two turnovers and missed two tough shots. Lauri Markkanen misfired on two free throws with 17 seconds remaining.

Key moment

With Utah down two and pressing, Andrew Nembhard found Siakam for a wide-open dunk with 5.1 seconds left to lift the Pacers to a 112-108 lead.

Key stat

The Jazz outrebounded the Pacers 60-37, but the Pacers forced 19 turnovers and scored 26 fast-break points to Utah’s 11.

Up next

The Pacers are at Portland on Tuesday night. The Jazz finish their four-game homestand against Golden State on Wednesday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

The frustration in the Utah Hockey Club locker room is rising.

Utah is now on a five-game losing streak after Sunday night’s 2-1 setback to the St. Louis Blues, with the last three losses coming at home.

Nothing Utah HC doing seems to be working, and the players are starting to recognize it.

“We’ve had a lot of meetings about this,” said veteran defenseman Ian Cole after the game. “I think that everyone’s really said just about all that could be said. At some point, it needs to get put in practice on the ice.”

Head coach André Tourigny agreed.

“You want to win,” he said after the game. “You want to find a way to cross the finish line and stuff like that. I don’t think we played that well today.”

The team is left looking for answers to more questions than just what it should be called next season. They have one game left in their current home stand, and its importance is not lost on Tourigny.

“It’s an extremely huge game for us (Tuesday) against Philly,” he said. “We need the two points; We need to finish the home stand at least at .500, hit the road and have a hell of a road trip before the break. There’s no doubt about it.”

Here’s a rundown of Sunday’s game.

Utah Hockey for dummies

As mentioned in the pregame article, a number of Utah players have had great success in against the Blues in their respective careers.

Defenseman Michael Kesselring continued his offensive streak against St. Louis with Utah’s only goal of the game. He now has goals in all three games against the Blues this season and he has points in all four games he’s ever played against them.

“(I’m) a little lucky, I guess,” Kesselring said of his scoring tendency against the Blues. “It was nice to get one there.”

On the other hand, two point streaks came to an end. Nick Schmaltz had scored points in each of his previous 11 games against the Blues, while St. Louis-area native Clayton Keller had done so in each of his previous eight contests versus his hometown team.

It was not for a lack of effort. Keller and Schmaltz, who play on the same line, seemed to be feeding off each other all night. They were responsible for more than their fair share of Utah’s scoring chances, but they just couldn’t get anything past Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington.

It culminated in Keller’s third-period bomb on the power play. Upon receiving a perfect pass from Mikhail Sergachev, Keller let it fly and drilled the crossbar.

The puck went so high that the fans on the left side of the net thought it might fly above the netting and into their section of the stands.

Utah Hockey for casual fans

Since Connor Ingram’s return to the lineup, he has given his team a chance to win every time he’s tended the net. Utah has struggled to score though, which means he’s gotten credit for a few more losses than he’s deserved.

In his six games since returning, he has a .910 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average. He’s not the most technically sound goaltender, but he’s finds ways to make saves — and that’s what ultimately matters.

For example, nearing the halfway mark of the first period Sunday with Utah killing a penalty, Ingram made an excellent save in tight on Oskar Sundqvist.

Ingram was down and out, but he managed to get his stick in position to block Sundqvist’s next bid and keep the game knotted at zero. Ingram has given his team all the support in the world. The team needs to start returning the favor by scoring enough goals to win.

Utah Hockey for nerds

To the Blues’ credit, Utah HC’s biggest problem was something the Blues did well rather than something UHC did poorly: congest the offensive zone.

In the first two periods especially, Utah couldn’t get anything to the inner slot without five white sweaters blocking every lane. That forced them to either shoot from the outside or cough the puck up.

“We made some tactical adjustments after the second to build more speed through the neutral zone,” Tourigny said after the game. “We’re happy about the result and it’s something we’ll try to duplicate.”

According to Natural Stat Trick’s data, Utah controlled just 23.08% of the high-danger scoring chances in the first period and 33.33% of those chances in the second.

Statistically speaking, Tourigny’s adjustments worked in the third period: Utah HC had 83.33% of the high-danger chances in the third period.

What’s next?

Utah closes out its home stand on Tuesday as it hosts the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers are in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference standings, but there’s so much parity in the east that they’re only seven points out of the playoffs.

They made a big trade last week to acquire Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko, the latter of whom is due for a bounce-back season. He scored 39 goals and 74 points as a member of the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23, but he hasn’t come close to that since.

Neither player has suited up for the Flyers yet. It’s unclear why Pelletier hasn’t played, but Kuzmenko is experiencing visa issues, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall.

Being the last game of the home stand, it’s the last day to vote on the team name and branding.