Vejmelka makes 32 saves, Utah defeats Jets

Karel Vejmelka made 32 saves for the Utah Hockey Club in a 4-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Delta Center on Saturday.

“We played rock solid,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “[Vejmelka], again, was really solid, but I think as a team we played really solid. I think in the third we got on our heels a little bit, but I won’t let that reflect on our game because we played against a really good team and we played a [heck] of a game. I’m really proud of the guys.”

Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton and Kevin Stenlund each had a goal and an assist for Utah (35-30-12), which had lost four of its past six games. Utah sits seven points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with five games remaining.

“I think Keller’s play, not just on the power play, at 5-on-5 he played a rock-solid game,” Tourigny said. “I think the captain showed up huge in a big game.”

Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets (52-21-4), who had won four of their previous five games. Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves.

“It’s just not the effort we wanted,” Winnipeg forward Cole Perfetti said. “We know they come out of the gates pretty hot, they’ve shown it all year that they’re a good first period team. We knew that going in and we just weren’t ready. We talked about it this morning, they’re a good rush team, a good transition team and we kind of fed into it early. They made plays and we kind of were on our heels. And then they took it to us in the first period there.”

Despite the loss, the Jets maintained their four-point lead over the Dallas Stars for first in the Central Division and Western Conference. The Stars lost 5-3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

“Yeah, for sure it is (a missed opportunity),” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “But you know what, we've talked about it for the last three, four weeks; we’re not waiting for some other team to beat Dallas. We can't sit and do that. We have to go and take care of our business. If we're going to win this division, win it by winning hockey games.”

Keller gave Utah a 1-0 lead at 4:24 of the first period when Hayton set him up for a one-timer on the power play.

“I thought we had a good start,” Keller said. “We played with a lot of speed. They’re a great team, tough play against, they have great players. So, I was proud of the way we fought kind of the whole game. The third maybe got away from us a little bit, but [Vejmelka] was unreal as usual (and) kept us in the game, made key saves at the right times.”

Hayton scored a power-play goal 57 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0 when he took Dylan Guenther’s pass off his skate at the edge of the crease and batted it in on the backhand.

Utah went 2-for-3 with the man-advantage.

“Our power play produced, but more than that, they give us momentum,” Tourigny said. “They attacked, they were on their toes and they played really solid.”

Keller also assisted on Hayton’s goal. His two points Saturday give him 500 points (192 goals, 308 assists) in the NHL.

“I honestly had no idea coming into the game, so I was a bit surprised,” Keller said of the milestone. “So many people in my life sacrificed for me to get to this level, so just super thankful for everything that they've done for me. And my teammates, coaches, there’s so many people that have, like I said, helped me get to where I'm at. So it's cool, and I still feel like I have a lot more to give and I'm just getting started.”

Stenlund pushed it to 3-0 with a snap shot from the top of the right circle at 16:57.

“I [need to] hit the net more, but yeah, that was a good shot,” Stenlund said. “It shows us how good of a team we are, when we play the right way, play our way. Yeah, it was a good game.”

Scheifele cut it to 3-1 on the power play at 2:45 of the third, finding a loose puck at the left post and scoring into an open net after Ian Cole blocked Perfetti’s shot in the slot.

“(The goal) was big,” Scheifele said. “We talked about it in the room before the third. Get one and see what happens, and then (we) got a chance right after, could have tightened the lead even more. We had our fair share of chances. Like I said before, proud of the group for battling hard in that third period.”

His 38th goal of the season was his 500th NHL point (335 goals, 465 assists).

“(It’s) obviously cool, but obviously it would have been better in a win,” Scheifele said.

Nick Bjugstad scored an empty-net goal for the 4-1 final at 17:19.

“I was happy for him,” Stenlund said. “He deserved a goal and I'm happy he got it.”

NOTES: Utah defenseman John Marino took a puck to the face 10:17 into the third period and did not return. There was no update after the game. … Keller joins Pat LaFontaine (468 goals, 545 assists in 865 games) as the second Missouri-born player to reach the 500-point milestone. … Keller (26 years, 250 days) became the fourth-youngest active U.S.-born player to reach 500 NHL points, behind Auston Matthews (25 years, 108 days on Jan. 3, 2023), Matthew Tkachuk (25 years, 328 days on Nov. 4, 2023) and Patrick Kane (25 years, 341 days on Oct. 26, 2014). … Winnipeg’s 52 wins remains tied for its franchise record, first set in 2017-18 and matched in 2023-24. The Jets have five games remaining.