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How the Return of a Defenceman Solidifies Utah Hockey Club’s Backend

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The Utah Hockey Club has had an injury-filled year on its defence for most of this season. Michael Kesselring and Ian Cole are the only two defencemen to play in all 50 games. Among Utah D-men, Mikhail Sergachev , Olli Maatta , Juuso Valimaki and Robert Bortuzzo have each missed games due to injury. Sean Durzi , another important defenceman, isn’t expected to be back until April. However, the biggest defenceman that recently returned for Utah is John Marino . Marino was expected to be a key piece of Utah’s blue line this season, but a back injury kept him out for 42 games. With him back in the lineup, perhaps it’s solidified the defence and will help in the team’s push for the playoffs. 

Adding Offence to Defence

Marino has had a decent start since returning from injury. He has four points in eight games while averaging about 21 minutes of ice time. He’s currently riding a three-game point scoring streak, which are all assists. He is now playing with Sergachev, who just recovered from an upper-body injury, thus forming Utah’s top defence pairing.

The 27-year-old recorded 25 points in 75 games with the New Jersey Devils last season, despite playing in a smaller role on New Jersey’s defence. He brings a more offensive-minded style to Utah’s defence, which is what the team desperately needs. 

Now that Marino is playing a larger role for Utah, he will be able to showcase his offensive abilities. It will be difficult for Marino to produce like he did last season after missing so much time. However, playing with Sergachev could improve his chances. Sergachev convincingly leads all Utah defencemen in points with 31 in 45 games, so they could be the pair that turns defence into offence.

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Utah doesn’t have much offence on the blue line beyond Sergachev, so Marino adds that certain element to the team. He most recently had a superb assist on a Michael Carcone goal. He also almost scored on a deflection in Utah’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins . Marino logged 25:32 in the game, the most since his return from injury. 

Depth on Defence

With Marino returning and joining Sergachev on the top pair, Utah gets much needed depth on defence. In their first seasons with Utah, Cole and Maatta have been defensive standouts. Cole signed with Utah as a free agent in the offseason, while Maatta was acquired earlier in the season from the Detroit Red Wings . Since then, Cole has been the most reliable and responsible defenceman for Utah. 

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Cole is ranked second among NHL defencemen in blocked shots with 136 and leads Utah defencemen in hits with 62. Utah the ninth team in his career, but Cole’s always a staple on defence no matter where he ends up. He’s blocked at least 100 shots in each of the last four seasons, while adding physicality to the mix. Maatta has some of the same qualities and both are seeing career minutes for Utah, showing how important they are. 

Kesselring is second in points among Utah defencemen with 19 and he’s on the second pair with Cole. He doesn’t play a physical game like Cole, but having an offensive and defensive minded player together makes for a balanced pair. This allowed Maatta to drop down to the third pair, where his new partner is newcomer Nick DeSimone . 

Utah’s backend getting healthier has solidified the defence and now it seems the team has an idea of what the pairs will look like for the rest of the season. With Utah just six points out of the wild card race, its current defensive pairings are:

Sergachev-Marino

Cole-Kesselring

Maatta-DeSimone

The organization has not made the playoffs since the 2020 bubble. This defensive core could help reach the playoffs in their first season in Utah.

Main Photo- Marc DesRosiers- Imagn Images

The post How the Return of a Defenceman Solidifies Utah Hockey Club’s Backend appeared first on Last Word On Hockey .