The 2024-2025 NHL Preseason games continue as we look to tonight’s game with the Las Vegas Golden Knights to host the new Utah Hockey Club. Formerly the Arizona Coyotes, the club now under new ownership has made an impressive show of force on the ice this preseason. While the Golden Knights continue to refine their roster and improve line chemistry, who wins the battle for dominance in the Western Conference before the season opening?
Utah Hockey Club Charts New Path
After Ryan Smith bought the Arizona Coyotes, the Coyotes, now the Utah Hockey Club, moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Arizona Coyotes struggled through their entire history. No Stanley Cups, no draft lottery winnings, and their fan support diminished. In the last few years, the Coyotes have sacrificed playoff aspirations for the priority of rebuilding the team. While the past struggles of the Coyotes may gnaw at the jerseys of the newly named team, they also have a significant possibility of the latter. The Utah Hockey Club may have obtained the team just before its emergence as a competitive hockey club.
The Utah Hockey Club has been extremely busy this preseason. Utah had its introductory home game in the Delta Center on Sunday, September 22, 2024. The St. Louis Blues visited the club, only to leave defeated by a 5-3 score. The following day, the Los Angeles Kings stepped into the Delta Center to also be defeated 3-2. Many are surprised by the gameplay of the Utah Hockey Club, but with two first-round picks in the 2024 Draft, four-time All-Star Clayton Keller, and two-time Stanley Cup Champion: Mikhail Sergachev, maybe the club has been underestimated.
Vegas Golden Knights
Being underestimated is something the Utah Hockey Club and the Las Vegas Golden Knights have in common. However, this season will be a determinate factor in the Knights’ direction for the next few seasons. The Golden Knights recently gutted their best players. Players like Chandler Stephenson, Johnathan Marchessault, Paul Cotter, William Carrier, Alec Martinez, Michael Amadio, and Logan Thompson all said their goodbyes to the club this offseason. While their names dominated headlines and were the names often spoken from broadcasters’ mouths, these players are no longer under the Vegas Born banner.
The Golden Knights have disappointed in the preseason but recently dazzled with the head coach’s rearrangement of the lines. The first Knights preseason offered visible room to improve but the club still was unstoppable on the rush. Game two was whiplash for spectators, presenting a sluggish response from Vegas in the first period, only to be unrecognizable in the second half of the second period and final period of the game.
While the Knights still left defeated last Wednesday night, many players made notable rushes (Toms Hertl, Brendan Brisson, Tanner Pearson, and Pavel Dorofeyev), defensive plays (Brayden McNabb, Kaeden Korczak, and Noah Hanifin), and saves during the game (Goaltender Ilya Samsonov).
The Potential Outcome Of Game Three
Both of these teams still need to improve different aspects of their game. Will Vegas better sustain their offensive rushes? Can the Utah Hockey Club strengthen their defense? Although preseason can only offer a glimpse of what the regular season could be for each club, fans are eagerly waiting for the meeting of these two franchises. Whether some players will rise to the occasion or fan on the puck remains to be seen, but arguably, the two most underestimated clubs in the NHL have an intense battle to undergo in game three of the preseason.
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