Keller's three-goal performance and Vancouver's 17 giveaways were not separate stories — they were the same story told from opposite ends of the ice.
Utah's depth overwhelmed a Vancouver team that couldn't sustain pressure, and a seven-goal road output against an 8th-place Pacific club tells only part of the story. The real gap was structural: UTA converted elite individual play into systemic dominance while VAN's 17 giveaways destroyed every momentum window they created.
⚡TURNING POINT
Keller's power-play goal at 7:04 of the second restored Utah's two-goal cushion immediately after Vancouver had clawed back to within one, killing any belief that VAN could make this a contest. With UTA converting on a roster built for playoff positioning and VAN unable to hold a 3-2 deficit at home, the margin became a ceiling Vancouver never threatened again.
🏆WHY UTA WON
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Keller generated a 4-point performance across 17:21 of ice time, producing three goals and dictating offensive-zone structure whenever Utah needed a response goal.
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Utah's 10 giveaways were damaging in isolation, but Vancouver's 17 giveaways created a turnover differential that repeatedly short-circuited VAN's transition game and handed UTA clean zone entries.
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Utah's power play converted at 16.7% on six attempts — fewer than Vancouver's percentage, but Keller's second-period goal came at the precise moment structural damage was locked in.
📉WHY VAN LOST
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Tolopilo conceded 3.60 goals above league average on 25 shots — in a three-goal game, that margin is the difference between a loss and a competitive result.
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Vancouver's 17 giveaways prevented sustained offensive-zone time, negating Karlsson's two-goal effort by eliminating clean setup sequences around it.
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VAN's faceoff dominance at 53.2% produced no territorial dividend, indicating an inability to convert possession starts into sustained pressure.
Three Stars
Clayton Keller1st
UTA, R
3G 1A 4P+31 PPG3 SOG in 17:21
His four-point night spanned all three periods and included the decisive power-play goal that sealed Utah's structural control of the game.
Linus Karlsson2nd
VAN, C
2G 0A 2P3 SOG in 14:04
Both goals kept Vancouver in striking distance, but the team's systemic failures rendered his individual output insufficient.
Lawson Crouse3rd
UTA, L
1G 1A 2P+22 SOG in 15:09
His third-period goal at 1:32 immediately neutralized Vancouver's back-to-back power-play conversions and ended the comeback before it started.
