SALT LAKE CITY - Roughly a month into their inaugural season, the Utah Hockey Club is right where they should be with a 5-4-3 overall record and 13 points (4th in Central Division). Now facing a gauntlet of opponents on their schedule over the next few weeks, November will be an important month to remain competitive and keep themselves in the playoff conversation heading into December.
From top to bottom, the Central Division is arguably the toughest in the NHL. Featuring an 11-1 Winnipeg Jets team, overperforming 8-1-2 Minnesota Wild squad and two star-studded rosters in Dallas and Colorado, Utah certainly has their work cut out for them.
However, 12 games into the season the Utah Hockey Club have held their own, especially after losing defenseman Sean Durzi to injury and learning that John Marino will be out longer than expected.
"We got off to an incredible, amazing start. Maybe we're not as good the first winning streak we had, but we're not as bad as the losing streak that we're on. There's a happy medium in there and we have to get there and grow. And not get our expectations out of whack. We're a five-hundred club right now, we're right where we should be for our age and where we're at in the rebuild...it's probably giving us a rude awakening which is a good thing. We're not as talented as our first few games led us to believe and let's get back to work," Armstrong told KSL Sports.
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They shocked the New York Rangers with an OT victory in MSG, beat the Islanders in their home opener, delivered a clutch OT victory against a veteran Boston squad and picked up a big point against a Vegas team that has yet to lose at home.
Impressive results and a lot of progress for a young team that is looking to take the next step in their rebuild and make the playoffs. But looking ahead to rest of November, this month will show no mercy and be a critical stretch if Utah wants to remain in the postseason conversation early.
Related: Utah Hockey Club Provides Injury Update On Durzi & Marino, Recalls Lamoureux
With 13 total games this month, they're 26 possible points on the board for the Utah Hockey Club. However, some of the NHL's best teams stand in the way of claiming those important early season points.
After an OT loss on Saturday to the Golden Knights (8-3-3), Utah will play Vegas twice more this month. They'll also face the Winnipeg Jets (11-1), St. Louis Blues (6-6), Carolina Hurricanes (8-2), Washington Capitals (8-3), Boston Bruins (6-6-1), Pittsburgh Penguins (5-7-1), Toronto Maple Leafs (6-5-2) and Edmonton Oilers (6-6-1) among others.
Additionally, of the 13 games on their schedule, nine of them are on the road in some of the toughest arenas in the NHL.
If Utah can pick up 13-15 points this month, they should be in good shape. That would likely mean they secured five to seven wins on top of their OT loss to Vegas and won about half the games on their unforgiving November schedule. The way this team is playing, there's also a good chance that a game or two could result in an OT loss which still produces a critical point for the loser.
"Every win is important...towards the end of the season every point matters. You want to get as many points as you can whenever. You see teams that miss playoffs by one or two points and those could've come early in the year...you want to be ready and win every game you can," Lawson Crouse said.
Having 25-28 points by the beginning of December likely keeps Utah in the playoff conversation, which should be their goal all season. So far, they've done a great job of remaining competitive. They've won some big games, secured a few critical points in OT, endured adversity and responded to a four-game losing streak.
But November will be the real test. If they can remain in the conversation this month, we should have a good idea of who this team is and what realistic expectations will be. Making the playoffs would be huge for Utah, even if they lose in the first round. That type of experience for guys like Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Matias Maccelli and a relatively young captain in Clayton Keller would be huge.
November should be an indication as to whether or not that will be possible this season.
The Utah Hockey Club will now continue their road trip against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.