The Hat Trick: Sidney Crosby Leads Penguins Over Utah Hockey Club With Dazzling OT Goal
Jan 30, 2025, 9:36 AM
SALT LAKE CITY – Despite a strong first period that featured a power play goal from Mikhail Sergachev in his return, the Utah Hockey Club fell short in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After taking the ice for the first time at Delta Center, Sidney Crosby’s Salt Lake City debut will not be soon forgotten as he led the Penguins to victory with a mesmerizing OT winner.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s OT loss to the Penguins.
Mikahil Sergachev shined in Utah Hockey Club return against Penguins
After missing five games due to an upper-body injury, Mikhail Sergachev made his presence quickly known with a perfectly placed shot to light the lamp and give Utah an early lead.
Elite puck movement from Utah here.
Patience from Cooley in the corner, dirty drop pass from Schmaltz, and Sergachev goes top shelf.
What a play. https://t.co/OVU9C6eeoZ
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 30, 2025
As Utah put the Penguins through a blender on the power play, the puck eventually ended up on No. 98’s stick after a sneaky drop pass from Nick Schmaltz.
Sergachev then stepped up into the slot and sniped Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic top cheddar to cap off a perfect play.
“I liked his game tonight,” head coach Andre Tourigny said. “He was moving his feet, offensively and defensively. I like his energy out there. We give him a chance to play that way.”
Sergachev’s impact on this team is simply invaluable. From day one, he’s been their MVP with elite defensive play and impactful offense.
Following his goal against the Penguins, Sergachev is now fifth on the team in total points with 31 (9G, 22A). He’s also the leading defensemen in terms of production by more than 10 points.
“He has a lot of character…he takes ownership and doesn’t shy away from responsibility. He’s a winner. He’s won before. He knows what it takes, and he believes in that group,” Tourigny explained.
Every day that goes by, the Sergachev trade continually demonstrates the genius of Bill Armstrong as Utah not only secured a No. 1 defenseman, but a player that will greatly impact the future of this team.
Utah Hockey Club fell flat late in loss to Penguins
While it wasn’t second period woes that plagued the Utah Hockey Club in their loss to the Penguins, it was yet another display that lacked a complete effort through 60 minutes.
Despite a thunderous and commanding initial frame as they outshot the Penguins 12-4 and had a 1-0 lead going into the locker room, Utah’s energy began to dip into the second.
Aside from Michael Carcone’s goal on a breakaway, Utah was outshot 24-17 through the remainder of the contest and greatly lacked dangerous opportunities.
“That’s one tough. We wanted that one, we needed that one. It sucked,” Carcone said.
As for the Penguins, once they finally saw one go in, the game flipped in their favor and Utah struggled to match the intensity.
THE DRAGON 🐉 pic.twitter.com/9kyCK5ct9D
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 30, 2025
We see you, Karl 👀 pic.twitter.com/rffjfjFu7y
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 30, 2025
Those same struggles continued into the overtime period as the Penguins played with more desperation and snatched the game-winner.
Through 50 games this season, Utah has been unable to consistently produce complete performances which has resulted in similar outcomes.
While the team has worked relentlessly to discover a solution, there has not been a clear answer to this point.
“Tough loss,” Sergachev said. “Tougher than the ones we had before…I don’t know what it’s going to take.”
“The leadership group and the coaches are doing everything we can to try to turn it around. We can’t be too negative about it, but we can’t be just, whatever, next one.”
Utah Hockey Club fans witnessed the legendary talent of Sidney Crosby at Delta Center
Making his official debut at the Delta Center, future hall-of-famer Sidney Crosby took the ice in Salt Lake City and did not disappoint.
Sidney Crosby on Salt Lake City:
“It was great. Atmosphere was great. It was a lot of fun to play here. You can tell that the people are excited here to have a team and came out to support them.” pic.twitter.com/ZysDR9cwQQ
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 30, 2025
Throughout the entirety of the game, Crosby was clearly the best player on the ice as he made high IQ plays all night long.
Every time he crossed Utah’s blue line; he was visibly dangerous with or without the puck on his stick.
He battled in the dirty areas, fought for positioning in front of the net, constantly moved to get open, made small but impactful plays and netted the OT winner in legendary fashion.
“He’s [Crosby] really serious about his craft,” Tourigny said. “He always plays like he has a chip on his shoulder. He always wants to prove something. He’s a good example for someone who wants to be on top of his game.”
With the game on the line, who else but Sidney Crosby?
The way he attacked the net with lightning speed after receiving the puck, went forehand backhand and outlasted Ingram to win the game for his team was pure wizardry.
BACKHAND KING 👑 pic.twitter.com/F2j63j2Iws
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 30, 2025
That’s the brilliance of Sidney Crosby and the NHL at its finest.
While it’s unfortunate that it was at the expense of the Utah Hockey Club and their fans, those moments are what makes having an NHL team so incredible.
To see the beautiful game played by the very best in an electric atmosphere.
Tonight, Utah fans were treated to all of the above and dazzled by perhaps the greatest to ever lace up a pair of skates.
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Next For The Utah Hockey Club
The Utah Hockey Club will host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
