Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dylan Guenther did it again.
This time it was just a bit less dramatic, but only a bit.
With 33 seconds left in overtime, the 21-year-old forward rebounded his own shot and then almost casually flipped it past Rlvis Merzlikins to lift the Utah Hockey Club to a 3-2 win over Columbus Thursday at Nationwide Arena.
The winner comes just two days after Guenther scored in the final second to beat the Flyers. So, uh, teams may want to keep a better eye on him when the game is on the line.
To be fair, though, he was trying to be a little sneaky before Thursday's winner.
Guenther saw all three Blue Jackets players storm down the ice on a potential three-on-zero break that never fully materialized. Columbus lost the puck as it tried in vain to stay onside; and once Guenther saw that, he stayed back behind the play.
"I mean, I was sniffing a little bit, to be honest," he said
"Sniffing," in this context, means to cheat for a quick offensive counterattack. Instead of chasing down Columbus, Guenther waited.
That proved to be a stroke of genius.
DYLAN GUENTHER DOES IT AGAIN! 💪
— NHL (@NHL) February 7, 2025
Guenther nets his third @Energizer overtime winner of the season off a fantastic heads-up pass from Connor Ingram! pic.twitter.com/VDaaWSJqJB
Goaltender Conor Ingram came out of the crease to collect the puck and flicked it against the boards to safety. It ricocheted off the glass and up and over everyone right to Guenther.
"I saw they were offside, so once I saw Ingy got it, I kind of figured he was gonna shoot it," Guenther said. "And I didn't even really see it. I just started skating."
And kept skating right toward goal.
Guenther tried to go five-hole on Merzlikins but was turned away. Fortunately for Utah, it bounced right back to Guenther who pushed in the game-winning shot.
"Pretty bad first shot, to be honest, like that didn't have any chance going in," he said. "And I got lucky it came back to me."
It was Guenther's team-leading 19th goal of the season. He has recorded 4 points in the last two contests after missing the previous 12.
More importantly, his return has brought Utah back to the win column — and back in the playoff chase. Utah's postseason chances seemed to be on life support after a five-game losing streak; but after back-to-back wins, The Club is back within striking distance.
"I don't think that we played our best today and we found a way to win," Guenther said. "When you're in those situations more often, you get more comfortable, more confident, and we're going to be in a lot of those moving forward. So it's important for us to get some wins doing it like that."
And wins where players find some redemption, too.
Ingram let in a shorthanded goal on a bad angle near the end of the second period that tied the game. He responded by stopping all nine shots in the third period to get things to the extra session, and then delivered the game-winning assist.
"Hell of a pass by Ingy," Guenther said.
Lawson Crouse, who was a healthy scratch on Tuesday due to a lack of production, came back and opened the scoring for Utah, finishing off a heads-up play by Josh Doan and had a team-high six hits.
"I think he played hard he was focused, he was intense. I really liked his game," head coach André Tourigny said.
And he certainly liked how things finished out on Thursday.
"That team (Columbus) is fighting for a playoff spot, same as us," Tourigny said. "We're on the road and we found a way to push through."
