Utah Hockey Club beat Seattle Kraken 7-1 at Delta Center

When André Tourigny told Kailer Yamamoto he would enter the lineup after five months away from the NHL, the head coach did not get much reaction from the Utah Hockey Club forward.

Yamamoto had just been recalled from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on March 26 and was getting a chance at a second stint with the Club.

“He was super composed. He was like, ‘Hmm, OK. I’ll be ready,‘” Tourigny recalled. “He was not excited, he was just, ‘OK, I got it.’ And he got it.”

Since that game against the Florida Panthers on March 28, Yamamoto has not left the lineup. And on Tuesday, he scored a goal — and delivered a staggering hit — in Utah’s 7-1 win over the Seattle Kraken, the team that decided to move on from Yamamoto last summer.

“It’s awesome,” Yamamoto said. “Obviously I owe [Seattle] one – they didn’t want me. Came in with a little bit of vengeance.”

The Spokane, Washington native played for the Kraken last season and had 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 59 games — he was on a one-year, $1.5 million deal with Seattle and they let him walk at its expiration.

Yamamoto soon entered Utah’s training camp on a professional tryout and earned a one-year, two-way contract (with a cap hit of $775,000) on Oct. 6 after posting three goals in six preseason games. While Yamamoto started the year in the NHL, he was assigned to the Roadrunners at the end of October following three games with the Club.

Now that he is back, Yamamoto is fighting for his job. That is, a contract extension in Salt Lake City.

“Absolutely [I am working for a contract]. Obviously working for that one-way,” Yamamoto said. “Feel like I’ve been playing pretty good so far. Four games left, just have to keep going for it.”

In the NHL, a one-way contract (which Yamamoto is gunning for) gives the player the same salary regardless of whether they play in the AHL. A two-way contract (which Yamamoto has now) pays a lower salary when in the AHL.

The 26-year-old quickly became an integral piece of Tucson’s offense, logging 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) in 52 games. Yamamoto was even briefly sent back to the Roadrunners this week to help them in their own playoff race; he had two assists on Sunday in the AHL before returning to Utah.

“I had no idea. I think they told me four minutes after I got undressed,” Yamamoto said of the sequence. “It’s always good to play down there. It’s a great group of guys down there.”

After taking the day off on Monday, Yamamoto refocused on Utah’s game against the Kraken — and it was a dominant one.

The Club controlled all three zones in the first period — while also getting some help from special teams — and came away with a 3-0 advantage. Mikhail Sergachev’s wrist shot at 2:44 opened the scoring for his team and Clayton Keller’s laser on the man advantage made it 2-0 at 12:54.

Yamamoto then went down in the corner after getting high-sticked in the face by Seattle defenseman — and former teammate — Jamie Oleksiak, which resulted in a double-minor penalty. The trainers tended to the bloodied cut on Yamamoto’s lip and sent him out on the second power-play unit.

Logan Cooley got the puck by the right circle and pushed it over to Josh Doan in the slot who found Yamamoto for the one-timer on the other side. The shot soared past Kraken netminder Joey Daccord for the 3-0 lead at 16:28 and Yamamoto’s second goal of the season.

“That one hurt a little bit,” Yamamoto said. “Scored a goal after. Made it feel a little bit better.”

Yamamoto — who has been playing on the second line with Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz — finished the night with a goal, two shots and one hit through 14:08 of ice time.

“He’s a really good player. His hockey sense, his IQ, his give-and-go game and his experience as well. You see the NHL is not new for him,” Tourigny said. “It’s not like he’s a guy who’s trying to break into the NHL, he’s already been there. The play he makes defensively or under pressure – really good.”

Utah exploded for four goals in the second period to take a commanding 7-0 lead. It marked the Club’s largest advantage of the season, beating the 6-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 30.

Lawson Crouse extended the gap just 16 seconds into the middle frame with a snapshot before Cooley deflected in a pass from Dylan Guenther (who finished the night with three points) to make it 5-0 at 11:15. A power-play goal — Utah’s third of the game — from Schmaltz put the Club ahead 6-0 and Michael Carcone’s snipe from the right side iced the matchup at 7-0 ahead of the third.

Jared McCann potted Seattle’s only goal of the night early in the final stanza while on the power play to bring the contest to its final 7-1 standing.

Utah had seven different goal-scorers — from all four lines — but Yamamoto’s play still stood out to his teammates.

“He’s got some experience in the league and he’s a hell of a player. Whenever we watch him in practice, he’s got poise with the puck, he’s silky,” Sergachev said. “He’s got all the attributes of a great player and it shows in the game. Nothing fazes him. He’s cool under pressure, that’s what I like about him.”

Given those remarks from players and coaches alike, one may wonder why Yamamoto has spent the majority of the year in the AHL.

“Because we had a lot of depth and not a lot of injury up front,” Tourigny said. “If you go through our season, a stretch we had other players who were playing really well.”

Utah also had players who were not playing well in the forward group. Underperforming, really. Previously, guys like Carcone and Matias Maccelli were put in the NHL lineup over Yamamoto. Now the forward is trying to prove his worth in a top-six role neither Carcone nor Maccelli has consistently filled.

So, what is Yamamoto’s goal for the final four games of the season?

“Play as good as I can,” he said.