Grizzlies Gameday: Series Deciding Game in Kansas City

Utah Grizzlies (31-18-2-1, 65 points, .625 Win %) at Kansas City Mavericks (24-25-2-1, 51 points, .490 Win %)

Sunday, February 27, 2022. Cable Dahmer Arena. 3:05 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the rubber match of the 3 game series at Kansas City and the 3rd of a 6 game road trip for Utah. 4 of the next 7 games will be against Kansas City. Utah is 3-2 vs Kansas City this season. It’s the last game of a 3 in 3. The Grizz are 14-7-2-1 when they play with 0 days rest between games. In the 3rd game of a series this season Utah is 9-2-0-1.

Last night the Grizzlies 5 game road winning streak ended as Kansas City won 5-4. Watch out for defenseman Miles Gendron, who has a goal in 3 straight games and Nate Clurman, who has an assist in 8 of his last 10.

Last Night: Kansas City Power Play Scored 3 in 5-4 Game

Luka Burzan had 1 goal and 2 assists for Utah in a 5-4 loss at Kansas City on Saturday night. Mavericks went 3 for 6 on the power play and Utah was 0 for 5. Burzan, Mason Mannek, Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Miles Gendron each scored a goal for Utah. KC’s Anthony DeLuca got a Gordie Howe Hat Trick with a first period goal, a second period assist and a third period fight with Utah’s Mason Mannek. Trent Miner saved 22 of 27 in net for Utah.

Friday Night: Mighty Power Play Leads Grizz to 4-2 Victory

Utah went 4 for 7 on the power play and was a perfect 9 for 9 on the penalty kill in a 4-2 win. Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored 1 goal and 2 assists. Nick Henry had 1 goal and 1 assist and Ben Tardif had 3 assists. Peyton Jones was solid in net again as he saved 31 of 33 to earn his 13th win.

Special Teams Have Played a Big Role

Utah scored 4 power play goals in the Friday series opener. Utah did so in 3 different scenarios. Luka Burzan scored a 5 on 3 power play goal in the first period. Miles Gendron and Charle-Edouard D’Astous added 5 on 4 goals and Nick Henry scored a 4 on 3 goal 10:09 into the third period.

Last night it was Kansas City who went 3 for 6 on the power play. They also scored a 4 on 4 goal in what turned out to be the game winner 5:59 into the third period.

Games on Current Road Trip

February 25, 2022 – Utah 4 Kansas City 2 -  D’Astous 1 goal, 2 assists. Nick Henry 1 goal, 1 assist. Peyton Jones saved 31 of 33.

February 26, 2022 – Utah 4 Kansas City 5 – Luka Burzan 1 goal, 2 assists. Charle-E. D’Astous, Miles Gendron and Mason Mannek added goals. Nate Clurman was a +3.

Sunday, February 27, 2022 – Utah at Kansas City. 3:05 pm.

Friday, March 4, 2022 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm.

Saturday, March 5, 2022 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm.

Sunday, March 6, 2022 – Utah at Rapid City. 4:05 pm.

All times Mountain. Every game can be seen on FloHockey and heard on Mixlr.

Season Series vs Kansas City

It’s the 6th of 9 season meetings between the clubs. Utah is 3-2 vs KC this season. KC won 5-2 on November 19. Utah won 4-2 on both November 20 and 21. The Grizz have outscored the Mavericks 18 to 16 this year. 8 of Utah’s 18 goals have been scored on the power play. Utah is 8 for 26 vs KC on the power play this season. Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads Utah with 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists). Mason Mannek has 2 goals and 3 assists in 5 games vs KC. Peyton Jones is 2-0 vs Kansas City, allowing just 4 goals in 2 games. Luka Burzan has 4 points in 2 games vs KC (2 goals, 2 assists).

Luka Burzan Returns With Authority

Luka Burzan scored a power play goal 2:41 into the contest on February 25 at Kansas City. On February 26 he scored 8:03 into the first period. Luka has 4 goals and 1 assist in his last 5 games since returning from an injury. In 20 games this season he has 7 goals and 9 assists. Burzan was a 6th round pick (171st overall) of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Draft. Luka has appeared in 24 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles over the last 2 seasons and had 3 goals and 1 assist.

Recent Transactions

Forward Nick Henry was reassigned to the Grizzlies on February 25 from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Henry had 1 goal and 1 assist for Utah in the 4-2 win on Friday night. On Saturday in the 2nd game of the KC series Henry had 1 assist. Henry has appeared in 6 games this season for Utah, scoring 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists). Henry has played in 28 games with the Eagles this season, scoring 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists).

February 25, 2022 – Nick Henry Reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL).

February 18, 2022 – Shane Kuzmeski claimed off waivers from Iowa.

February 18, 2022 – Trey Bradley and Trent Miner Reassigned to Utah. Bradley placed on Injured Reserve.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous Continues to Produce.

Defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous lead all league defenseman with 19 goals and is 2nd with 42 points. He leads the team in power play goals (6), power play points (16) and shots among defenseman (138). Charle has a point in 14 of his last 20 games. He has a point in 27 different games this season, which leads the club. D’Astous also leads all league defenseman with 6 game winning goals.

Local Boy Does Good

Herriman, Utah native Mason Mannek has had a solid first full season as a pro. Mannek had 4 assists in a 5-4 win over Worcester on February 21. On February 26 at Kansas City Mannek scored a goal 5:40 into the contest. Mannek is 2nd on the club with 40 points. He’s third on the team with 17 goals and is tied for 3rd with 23 assists. Mannek has also taken a ton of face-offs for Utah this season and has more than held his own. Mason and Tyler Penner are the only 2 players who have appeared in all 52 regular season games.  

Peyton Jones Has Dominated in February

In his last 7 games Peyton Jones is 5-1 with a .927 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average. Jones leads Utah with 13 wins on the season. February 2022 is the best individual month of Peyton’s pro career.

Gotta Get to 3

Getting to 3 goals may be the magic number for the Grizzlies. When they score 3 or more goals in a game they are 30-6-3-1. When they score less than 3 goals this season they are just 1-12. Utah is 18-0 when allowing less than 3 goals.

Next Homestand

Wednesday, March 9, 2022 Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Bud Light College Night. Singles Night.

Friday, March 11, 2022 Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm. AFCU Friday. Beer Fest.

Saturday, March 12, 2022 Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Military Night Presented by Darren Bideaux RV.

Family Fun Zone is on the concourse for every Grizzlies home game.

All times Mountain. Every game can be seen on FloHockey and heard on Mixlr.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Trent Miner leads the league with 4 shutouts. Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads all league defenseman with 19 goals and is 2nd with 42 points. D’Astous leads all defenseman with 6 game winning goals. D’Astous and Luke Martin are both tied for the lead among defenseman in plus/minus at +27. Brian Bowen among league leaders with 175 shots. Ben Tardif leads all league rookies with 7 shorthanded points. Mason Mannek is tied for 4th in points among rookies with 40.

Grizzlies Roster

Forwards: Brian Bowen, Trey Bradley, Luka Burzan, Taylor Crunk, Nick Henry, Mason Mannek, Tyler Penner, Zac Robbins, Quinn Ryan, Gehrett Sargis, Christian Simone, Benjamin Tardif.

Defenseman: Nate Clurman,Joey Colatarci, Austin Crossley, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Miles Gendron, Shane Kuzmeski, Luke Martin, Connor McDonald, Kyle Pouncy, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones,Cole Kehler, Trent Miner.

2021-2022 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 31-18-2-1

Home record: 16-9. Utah has outscored opponents 88 to 73 at home.

Road record: 15-9-2-1

Win percentage: .625. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Lost 1.

Standings Points: 65. 

Last 10: 5-5.

Goals per game: 3.46 (9th) Goals for: 180.

Goals against per game: 3.17 (13th) Goals Against: 165.

Shots per game: 32.38 (9th)

Shots against per game: 31.27 (13th)   

Power Play: 30 for 164 – 18.3 % (19th)

Penalty Kill: 159 for 211- 75.4 % (25th)

Penalty Minutes: 733. 14.10 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 18 (1st).

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 7.

Record When Scoring First: 13-8-0-1. Utah has scored first in 22 of 52 games this season. Utah is 18-10-2 when the opposition scores first.

Record in One Goal Games: 11-3-2-1. 17 of the 52 games have been decided by 1. 13 games have been decided by 2. Utah is 8-5 in 2 goal games.  

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Brian Bowen/Charle-Edouard D’Astous (19).

Assists: Ben Tardif (28)

Points: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (42)

Plus/Minus: D’Astous/Luke Martin (+27)

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (114) Mason Mannek leads active Grizzlies with 80.  

Power Play Points: D’Astous (16)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (6)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous (10).

Shorthanded Goals: Trey Bradley/Matthew Boucher (4)

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (175)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (12 for 64). 18.8 %. – Minimum 60 shots.

Game Winning Goals: D’Astous (6).

Wins: Peyton Jones (13).

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.932).

Goals Against Average: Garrett Metcalf (1.84)

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Stats

Utah has scored a league leading 18 shorthanded goals. The Grizz are 12-4 when scoring a shorthanded goal. Utah is outscoring opponents 72 to 49 in the 2nd periods. Utah is 21-1 when leading after 2 periods. Grizz are 19-6-0-1 when outshooting opponents.  Utah is 18-10-2 when the opposition scores first. Utah is 30-6-2-1 when scoring 3 or more goals. Utah has outscored opponents 88 to 73 at home. Utah's 180 goals are tied for the highest total in the league. Their 65 standings points are 3rd in the league. The Grizz are 14-7-2-1 when they play with 0 days rest between games. Utah is 24-9-1-1 vs Mountain Division opponents. Utah is 18-0 when allowing less than 3 goals. The Grizz are 11-3-2-1 in one goal games. Utah is 8-10-2 when trailing after 1 period. The 8 wins when trailing after 1 is the most in the league.

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Luka Burzan, Miles Gendron (3) Charle-E D’Astous (2), Mason Mannek (1).

Assist Streaks: Nick Henry (2) Shane Kuzmeski, Luke Martin, Gehrett Sargis, (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Bradley (4) Burzan, Gendron (3) D’Astous, Henry (2).

Grizzlies Player Trends

Brian Bowen has 11 goals and 7 assists in his last 18 games. 22 of his 33 points have been at Maverik Center. 12 of his 19 goals have been at home. 10 of his 14 assists have been at home. Bowen has a point in 8 of his last 12 games. Bowen leads the team with 175 shots on goal. Brian has taken 5 or more shots in 18 different games.  Bowen averages 3.64 shots per game.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous has a point in 27 different games this season. D’Astous is a +7 in his last 6 games. He leads all league defenseman in goals (19) and game winning goals (6). He is 2nd among all league defenseman in points (42), shots (138) and is tied for the lead in plus/minus (+27).

Ben Tardif has a point in 7 of his last 9 games (4 goals, 7 assists). Tardif has 40 shots in his last 9 games. Tardif has 8 games of 2 or more assists. Ben has 18 games of 4 or more shots on goal. Tardif has scored a point in 22 of 34 games this season. Tardif leads the team with 13 multiple point games.

Luke Martin is a +15 in his last 17 games. Luke has taken 58 shots over his last 17 games. Martin has missed the last 5 games.

Luka Burzan has a goal in 4 of his last 5 games.

Miles Gendron has a goal in 3 straight games. Having success against Kansas City is nothing new for Miles, who had 3 goals and 2 assists last season vs KC, including a 2 goal game at KC on February 6, 2021.

Zac Robbins has 4 goals in his last 6 games.

Nate Clurman has an assist in 8 of his last 10 games.

Shane Kuzmeski has an assist in 3 of his last 4 games.   

Peyton Jones has won 5 of his last 6 starts. Peyton has a .927 save percentage and a 2.56 Goals Against Average in his last 7 games. Jones leads the club with 13 wins.