Guenther nets pair of goals, Utah beats Minnesota 2-1 for season-high 4th straight win
Utah Hockey Club right wing Dylan Guenther (11) is congratulated for his goal against the Minnesota Wild during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. Credit: AP/Matt Krohn
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Dylan Guenther scored his second goal of the game midway through the third period and the Utah Hockey Club beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 Friday night.
Guenther beat Marc-Andre Fleury five seconds into a power play for the go-ahead goal.
Karel Vejmelka made 28 saves for Utah, which won its season-high fourth straight game and seventh straight road game, extending its league record for most consecutive road wins by a franchise in its inaugural season.
Mats Zuccarello had the Minnesota goal, and the Wild have lost four of five and have been outscored 19-9 in that span. Fleury finished with 16 saves.
Zuccarello completed a three-person passing play with Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi for a 1-0 Minnesota lead midway through the first period, but Guenther scored his first a minute later.
Takeaways
Utah: Utah was 1 for 3 on the power play. In its past 13 games, Utah has scored 13 power-play goals on 36 tries, including eight goals in the last six outings.
Wild: Injury-plagued Minnesota had Brock Faber in the lineup after he was struck in the side of the neck by a shot during Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the Panthers. He went to the hospital to be evaluated and said it now feels like he has a bad case of strep throat.
Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) defends his net against the Minnesota Wild during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. Credit: AP/Matt Krohn
Key moment
Utah appeared to go up 2-1 midway through the second period on a rebound goal by Jack McBain, but Minnesota successfully challenged that there was goaltender interference by Kevin Stenlund.
Key stat
Wild right wing Ryan Hartman doesn't have a point in his past 14 games and doesn't have a goal in 16 games. He has four goals and three assists in 28 games this season after recording 21 goals and 24 assists in 74 games last season.
Up next
Utah opens a three-game homestand Sunday against Anaheim. Minnesota is at Winnipeg Saturday.
