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A Millimeter Proved To Be A Game Changer In Utah's Critical 3-1 Win Over Calgary

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Mar 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) defends against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

If football is a game of inches, then hockey must be a game of millimeters or even nanometers because it certainly was in Utah's game against Calgary.

And depending on who you ask, that tiny margin was either the sliver of white ice visible between the puck and the goal line or the fraction of the puck still touching the red line

At the beginning of the second, with Utah leading 1-0, a sudden challenge from Calgary was issued on whether or not the puck crossed the line and if Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka actually saved it. 

As the officials reviewed the play, what initially seemed like a clear save suddenly became a polarizing decision when a deflected puck off Utah defenseman Nick DeSimone came dangerously close to crossing the goal line for Calgary's first goal.

After the review was finished, it was deemed that, even with the puck being as close to going in as it could be, Calgary would not be awarded a goal. 

If Vejmelka had reacted a tenth of a second later, Calgary would have tied the game up 1-1 and the dynamic of this game would have been very different. 

Instead, Utah's Barrett Hayton would score Utah's second goal of the game just thirty seconds after the review ended. 

The play began when Utah’s Nick Schmaltz stole the puck from Calgary in the neutral zone.

With Calgary having only two defenders back—one covering Schmaltz in the middle of the ice—Barrett Hayton and Sean Durzi worked together, passing back and forth before Hayton found an opening and fired a shot, putting Utah up 2-0.

What had looked like a tied game was now fully in Utah’s control, thanks to one of Vejmelka’s clutch saves of the night.

"It’s just a lot of fun to play in front of him. He's a competitor...he loves doing it," said Hayton. "It's a lot of confidence in a guy like that, and you see it every day. We know he kicks, but still, he makes some saves out there that are just crazy."

In a night where Vejmelka saved all but one shot of his 34 saves, with Rasmus Andersson scoring the lone goal for Calgary on an unassisted long goal, he would get two more clutch saves in the third for Utah that proved to be the difference in this game

With Utah leading 2-1 in the third, Vejmelka denied back-to-back open shots from Calgary’s Blake Coleman and Matt Coronato. On Coronato’s attempt, Sean Durzi even helped his goalie by laying out to block the shot, but it would be Vejmelka who ended up saving the goal by kicking the puck away. 

"I just try to focus on another game, another shift, and another shot," said Vejmelka. "That's [the] kind of the mindset that I've had and we just need to keep going and keep rolling and play a style of hockey where we block shots. Being resilient is huge for us."

Vejmelka also received help from his teammates, who disrupted Calgary's puck movement all night, and aggressively attacked the Flames whenever they were holding the puck.

Kevin Stenlund, who scored Utah's first goal, was even able to get a shot on goal with well under two minutes remaining, while Calgary tried to pull goalie Rasmus Andersson for an extra attacker, thanks to the aggressive play Utah displayed.

In the end, Utah would stay strong on defense and secure the win with an empty-net goal from Clayton Keller, leading to a 3-1 victory.

"The point is, we'll never quit," said coach André Tourigny. " There's no quitting in that room. There's no quitting in those players... We won’t quit until they pull the plug, and if they do, it is what it is... but we won't give them any reason to do it."

Dylan Guenther proved to be a prime example of this in the first period after a puck to the face left him bleeding on the ice.

Although Guenther temporarily left the game after taking the puck to the face, he returned before the first period ended, rejoining the action with just over a minute remaining.

While the game left battle scars and some Calgary fans still convinced the Flames should have had that goal, Utah earned a clutch win and a sweep over Calgary.

Though it must be irritating to watch the Blues pick up their 10th consecutive win on a last-minute, game-tying overtime goal against the Red Wings, Utah has to feel good about starting its five-game homestand with a win.

Its Do or Die For Utah Hockey ClubIts Do or Die For Utah Hockey Club 

Now, Utah sits eight points out of the final Wild Card spot, currently held by the Minnesota Wild, with the Blues' win allowing them to leapfrog over the Wild.

Utah is hoping to continue its longest winning streak of the season with a matchup against the Kings this Thursday, April 3.

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