Utah Hosts Colorado to Wrap Homestand

MORNING SKATE NOTES

• Head coach André Tourigny shared that lines will remain the same from last game. Here’s how the team lined up last game. The only change to the lineup is that Karel Vejmelka will play over Vítek Vaněček, who started last game.
• There was full attendance at morning skate for all expected players.

Take Two

This is the second of two meetings between the Mammoth and Avalanche this season. The first meeting was a close 2-1 loss for Utah, and the team is familiar with their opponent going into tonight.

“They have a lot of dangerous players out there that we have to be aware of on the ice,” defenseman John Marino explained. “They like to play that possession style game. They’re fast and good in transitions. Obviously going to limit our turnovers and be mindful of that.”

“I feel like we played really well,” Tourigny said of the first game against Colorado. I think it was a good game. I think we forced them to some turnovers. I know that they will be prepared for that. I know that it will be a little bit of a different game. It’s a team who has a really good pace. They have a lot of speed and they like possession and those kind of things. But we have to do what we have to do which is putting a lot of pressure, winning our battles, protecting the inside, those kinds of things will lead (to) our success.”

Colorado forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas each have a team-leading 10 points through the first six games. Tourigny explained what the Mammoth need to do to limit those players.

“It’s all about time and space and speed,” Tourigny explained. “Get in their eyes early. Make sure we have a lot of structure. I think they feed off transition a lot. When they can get going and gather their speed from there, they’re tough to spot, to slow down, they feed the slot a lot. So, it’s about managing the puck, getting above them, being physical with them, cutting their time and space and playing with the puck as much as possible.”

What the Doctor Ordered

Utah’s top line of Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, and Nick Schmaltz have combined for 13 points through two games (Schmaltz: 3G, 3A; Keller: 2G, 4A; Hayton: 1A). Following morning skate, Tourigny discussed how Hayton has been the right fit at center for this line:

“I think he’s exactly what the doctor prescribed for that line. He drives the net really hard. He has a net presence. He’s really good on the forecheck, really good on the draws, really good on the d-sone situations. He has a great awareness and his reload was great. He’s a good all-around player so I think he’s exactly the kind of mix you want to have on the line. I think he’s what completes the line really well. I think if you look at individually those three guys, they have quality that mix really well together.”