Through the first five games of the season, the Utah Hockey Club had no trouble with their opponents.
After the last two games, they find themselves in some deep trouble of their own.
On a night where Maveric Lamoureaux made his NHL debut, it was fellow rookie Ivan Ivan and the Colorado Avalanche who stole the spotlight in a 5-1 rout of Utah Thursday at Delta Center.
In a repeat of Tuesday’s thumping against Ottawa, Utah (4-3-1) suffered their fourth loss in five games, including three regulation losses by a combined score of 12-1.
Lawson Crouse was the saving grace, breaking the shutout for Colorado (4-4-0) with under six minutes left with his third goal of the season.
“We have to simplify,” coach Andre Tourigny said. “At some point, when we have an opportunity to take a shot, we cannot pass on it.”
Tourigny tried to get the message across in the second period when he completely mixed up the lines, putting Dylan Guenther on the top line and adding Jack McBain to a line with Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse.
Even though it created some momentum, it was quickly extinguished by Casey Middlestadt’s goal to make it 3-0, and Ivan Ivan’s power-play goal, his first in the NHL, came soon after.
But Tourigny made it clear he was not happy at all with his team’s lack of fight and emotion, something that was present in Tuesday’s loss to Ottawa.
As for the line combinations, he simply said “we’ll sleep on it, and we’ll see.”
“If you look at every game, our possession and offensive zones are great, but we don’t have enough volume,” he added. “The way we’re playing right now, we’re doing the reverse.”
More from Thursday:
Related: Utah HC Gameday: Maveric Lamoureaux To Make NHL Debut
Related: Utah HC Gameday: Lineups For Showdown With Avs
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