The Utah Hockey Club beats the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening game

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Hockey Club never trailed after first-period goals from Dylan Guenther and Clayton Keller and held off a late rally to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday night.

Günther scored two goals after coming up empty in the final minute. Barrett Hayton added a goal and an assist for Utah in the second period. Lawson Crouse capped the score with 22 seconds left.

Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Foligno each scored a goal for Chicago to help reduce the 3-0 deficit.

Guenther scored the first goal in Utah franchise history after firing a slap shot midway through five minutes of the first period.

Hayton's tip-in made it 3-0 for Utah before the Blackhawks rallied. Foligno brought Chicago within one goal after putting the puck in with 15:12 left in the third period. Connor Ingram made 25 saves for Utah and Petr Mrazek made 20 for Chicago.

Takeaways

Blackhawks: After a lackluster first period, Chicago turned things up offensively in the second period and had 11 shots on goal. The Blackhawks were unable to take sufficient advantage of these opportunities.

Utah HC: Utah performed well on power play defense, stopping the Blackhawks from three penalties.

Key moment

Hayton threw the puck over Mrazek's shoulder midway through the second period. It gave Utah just enough of a cushion until Guenther sealed the victory with an unanswered goal with 41.9 seconds left.

Key statistics

Keller has eight career points (four goals, four assists) in season opening games. He is the only Utah player to have a 30-goal season, reaching that mark in each of his final two seasons in Arizona.

Next

The Blackhawks continue their season opener with four games on Friday in Winnipeg, while the Utah Hockey Club begins a four-game road trip to the New York Islanders on Thursday.