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SALT LAKE CITY — Maybe Karel Vejmelka should have asked for more money.
Late in the second period, Detroit’s Alex DeBrincat thought he had a goal; heck, just about everyone did. He had a shot from just outside the crease and there was plenty of open net for him to work with there.
Vejmelka, though, snagged the puck right out of the air.
That was far from his only big save Thursday in Detroit.
A night after he signed a five-year extension, Vejmelka made 38 saves to help Utah to a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Consider it a pretty good early return on Utah’s investment.
“I like those kinds of games with a good pace and it’s kind of like playoff games,” Vejmelka said. “So I was just trying to be focused as much as I can, and be ready for what’s going to happen in front of me.”
A lot was happening in front of him.
Utah was outshot 40-19 by a Detroit team that seemed to live in the crease during the first two periods. The Red Wings zipped around the offensive zone, sending puck after puck toward the net.
That led to 27 scoring opportunities and 12 high-danger chances. In short, the Red Wings should have scored more than two goals. Utah has Vejmelka to thank for the fact that they didn’t.
“We got an elite performance from Veggie,” head coach André Tourigny said. “He was really, really good; made key saves in key moments.”
That performance kept Utah in a game it really had no business being in. MoneyPuck’s Deserve to Win O’Meter (which simulates the game based on the team’s chances), gave Detroit an 80% chance of winning the contest.
Yet, it was The Club that skated away with 2 points; Tourigny isn’t about to apologize for that.
“We’ve had a lot of those games that went the other way, where we dominate and we cannot seal the deal,” Tourigny said. “It’s good to be on the other side of it.”
Utah ended up on the other side due to two opportunistic goals in the third period from Kevin Stenlund and Lawson Crouse.
About three minutes into the third, the puck bounced to Stenlund just inside the right circle faceoff dot and he sent a laser past Detroit goalie Alex Lyon to give Utah a 3-2 lead.
Five minutes later, Crouse doubled up Utah’s lead. Jack McBain made a slick backhanded pass that freed Crouse up in front of the net and the veteran forward was able to finish it off for his 10th goal of the season.
“The first two periods, we gave up a lot defensively and we knew that,” Crouse said. “We had one period to go out there and win an important hockey game, and that’s what we did.”
Dylan Gunether and Nick Schmaltz also scored for Utah, which won for the fourth time in its last five games.
The victory helped Utah keep pace in the playoff race; Utah (65 points) trails Calgary by 3 points for the final wild card spot, but Vancouver (67 points) and St. Louis (66) also stand in the way.
“We need to win every game,” Tourigny said. “That’s the way it is.”
That type of pressure is something the team has embraced.
“These are the games we want to be in,” Crouse said. “As we didn’t like the first two periods, we pulled together and we came out strong. It’s a great win.”
And came via the latest great performance from Vejmelka. But, to Touringy, that’s just part of being on a good team. There will be nights you’ll need a goalie to stand on his head and nights you’ll need forwards to produce a little more.
With Utah a “little rusty” with four days in between games, Vejmelka allowed his teammates to find their legs again.
“We demanded a lot from him tonight,” Tourigny said. “I want to help him a little bit better, but you know what? That’s what a team is when you stick together. Sometimes it’s one guy, another night it’s another guy.”
