Growing up following the Vancouver Canucks, I learned that there’s always one or more defensemen on whom you can blame nearly every loss. Thats

Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) and goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) hug after a win over the Minnesota Wild of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) St. Paul, Minn. • Utah Hockey Club has had this week circled on the calendar.

At first glance, the Utah Hockey Club played a perfect game on Thursday. But the stats suggest there was lots of room for improvement.

John Marino’s arrival has helped steady the backend without Sergachev. The defenseman — who was traded to Utah this summer from the New Jersey Devils — made his team debut on Jan. 14 and has played in four games. The 27-year-old missed training camp and the first half of the year after undergoing lower-back surgery in October.

The Utah Hockey Club beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 at home on Monday. On Friday, the Jets returned the favor with a 5-2 win over Utah HC in their own building. In both cases, the games were much closer than the score suggested.

Friday night in the NHL features the Winnipeg Jets hosting Central division foe, the Utah Hockey Club at Canada Life Center. Welcome to NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey, where we preview and predict the upcoming slate of NHL games around the league each day!