Utah Hockey Club fell 6-1 to the St. Louis Blues Tuesday at the Enterprise Center.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) André Tourigny as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Minnesota Wild, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
St. Louis • Utah Hockey Club’s final first period of its inaugural season was somewhat fitting.
Not in a positive way, though.
The St. Louis Blues needed a regulation win to secure their spot in the playoffs as a wild-card team in the Western Conference. A sluggish start, including three penalties, and an eventual 6-1 loss for Utah gifted the Blues the two points on Tuesday.
“I think tonight was pretty indicative of different aspects of struggle that we’ve had throughout the course of the year,” defenseman Ian Cole said. “I think you saw the culmination of it in the first period.”
St. Louis, simply, wanted it more.
With nothing left to play for, Utah let the Blues control the pace of the game — and score four times in 11 minutes.
Utah was likely relieved when that first buzzer sounded. It was an ugly period — one in which the team looked disengaged (granted, Utah was in the second game of a back-to-back). But, as the Club has learned too many times this season, you cannot afford to not start on time. It is one of the reasons why the Blues will be in the playoffs and Utah will not.
“They came out with an intensity that we could not match,” Cole said. “They were playing for their lives tonight. This was a playoff hockey game and we were not ready to step up to that level of desperation.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole (28) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Minnesota Wild, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
The Enterprise Center was bursting at the seams with the Blues faithful willing their group to a postseason appearance. Brayden Schenn’s opening goal sent the crowd into a frenzy. And they kept it going.
Following Schenn’s rebound tally off the rush, Pavel Buchnevich doubled the advantage to 2-0 with a one-timer from the right side where he was left uncovered at 11:17.
“I think it highlighted a little bit our age, highlighted little stuff we need to get better [at],” Utah head coach André Tourigny said. “They were well prepared. Us, no excuses, but we were not as prepared for them. We just played three games in four [days].”
Utah’s Lawson Crouse was sent to the box for roughing and the Blues’ Jimmy Snuggerud — in his seventh NHL game — was quick to capitalize. The forward earned inside ice and got behind Cole around Utah’s crease before knocking in the loose puck at 14:45 to make it 3-0.
It was Snuggerud’s first goal in the league; he signed his entry-level contract with St. Louis on March 28. The University of Minnesota product played on a line with Logan Cooley for the Golden Gophers in 2022-2023 — they were one of the best duos in college hockey. Tuesday was the first time the two had faced off in the NHL, and Snuggerud earned the early bragging rights.
The Blues widened the gap less than five minutes later when they were put on the power play once again. Zack Bolduc received a pass from Robert Thomas in the high slot and ripped it past Karel Vejmelka for the 4-0 boost at 19:13.
“That’s a good power play and we weren’t ready on our reads,” Cole said. “It’s one of those things that you wish you could look at the video and make adjustments and move on. But being that it’s the last game of the year, you obviously can’t do that.”
Clayton Keller — the Chesterfield, Missouri, native — breathed some life into his team in the middle frame when Utah got its first man advantage of the night. Mikhail Sergachev dished the puck to Keller by the right circle, where he unleashed a laser to make it 4-1 at 5:40. The play marked the captain’s 30th goal of the season and the first time he has hit 90 points in his nine-year NHL career.
Utah’s pushback made little dent in the contest in the third period. Jordan Kyrou scored twice — once on the power play, for the Blues’ third power-play goal of the game — and another, this time a wrist shot at 17:24, to seal the 6-1 victory and send his group to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
Much of the Club’s struggles this season have been written off as growing pains — partially because they are. But as the inaugural showing wraps up, expectations rise. Improvement will be expected from lackluster performances like Tuesday.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole (28) looks to pass the puck as Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) assists during the third period of the NHL game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024.
“We need to actually learn from it,” Cole said. “We can say that we will learn from it but we actually have to learn the lesson and change or adapt or grow or whatever you want to say. We need to learn and get better at handling situations like this.”
It is a new feeling for Cole. It is the first time since his rookie season with none other than the St. Louis Blues in 2010-11 that he has missed the playoffs. The veteran defenseman — and the rest of his teammates — now have the summer to work on playing beyond 82 games.
“On one side — it’s tough to say it right now — maybe that is the best thing that happens to us,” Tourigny said. “That highlights the work we have to do. There was a ton of improvement, a ton of commitment from our players to get better every day throughout the season. Having that said, we are not where we want to be. That highlights the stuff we have to work on. And we will. We will get better.”