Vejmelka shines in relief as Utah outlasts Capitals in shootout thriller

WASHINGTON D.C. — The Utah Hockey Club bounced back from a tough loss on Saturday, edging the Washington Capitals 5-4 in shootout victory at Capital One Arena on Sunday.

Nick Schmaltz netted the decisive goal in the shootout, while Karel Vejmelka stood tall in relief to help Utah secure its first shootout win of the season.

Utah wasted no time setting the tone when Josh Doan's long-range shot found its way past Logan Thompson. Just 32 seconds later, Michael Carcone capitalized on the momentum, giving Utah a quick 2-0 lead. Jack McBain and Dylan Guenther also found the back of the net for Utah, who has now won three of its last four games.

The game took a turn when Utah's starting goalie, Connor Ingram, was forced to leave in the first period after taking a blistering slap shot from Alex Ovechkin. Vejmelka entered in relief and delivered a stellar performance, stopping 30 of 32 shots and shutting down Washington in the shootout.

"He was assertive," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said of Vejmelka. "Never felt he was shaky. He wanted to play. He was confident."

Despite Utah's early dominance, the Capitals clawed back, powered by two goals from Tom Wilson and three assists from Ovechkin. Wilson's second goal came with just 1:31 left in regulation, forcing overtime and setting the stage for a tense finish. Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois also found the scoresheet for Washington, who outshot Utah 15-7 in the third period.

In overtime, Vejmelka delivered in the clutch, stretching out his left pad to deny Jakob Chychrun on a point-blank one-timer with 10 seconds remaining. That save proved pivotal as the game headed to a shootout.

Schmaltz, facing one of the NHL's top goalies in Thompson, executed a slick move, faking forehand before lifting the puck high over Thompson's blocker.

"It's a little different shooting on a different-handed goalie, so I try to go forehand a lot," Schmaltz said. "I tried a different move and I was fortunate this time."

Utah's ability to close out one of the Eastern Conference's top teams was a major statement heading into the upcoming break.

"It's huge. They are a big team," Tourigny said. "They are the best team in the East. It's good when it starts to come a little bit from everybody and everybody starts to chip in, and that helped."

Schmaltz credited Vejmelka for keeping Utah in the game.

"He did a heck of a job for us," Schmaltz said. "We were generating a lot. You know, sometimes they don't go in, but we stuck with it and found a way to get two points."

With the win, Utah heads into the 4 Nations Face-Off break on a high note. They return to action on Feb. 22 against the Los Angeles Kings, while Washington will face Pittsburgh the same night.

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