Vancouver • Utah Hockey Club will be without ‘Spicy Tuna’ for the foreseeable future. Liam O’Brien is sidelined with a lower-body injury for “about four weeks,” head coach André Tourigny said. The forward took a hit along the boards early in Friday’s game against the Seattle Kraken and did not return to action.

With 17 games to go, the Utah Hockey Club is on the verge of claiming a spot in the postseason. Facing the Seattle Kraken in a Friday night matchup, Utah can move into a tie with

The Utah Hockey Club (29-25-11) opens up a three-game northern push tonight against the Seattle Kraken (28-34-4) tonight at Climate Pledge Arena. Utah has earned points in four straight games entering tonight and is just two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Utah is 16-12-4 on the road.

The Utah Hockey Club has activated forward Nick Bjugstad off injured reserve, but the veteran will remain a healthy scratch, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports.

Wednesday evening marks the third and final meeting of the season between Utah and Anaheim. The Ducks toppled Utah 5-4 in overtime on Oct. 16 and 5-4 in a shootout on Dec. 22 despite the fact that Utah led in the third period of both games.

Eeli Tolvanen put back a rebound 51 seconds into the game and became a 20-goal scorer for the first time in his NHL career and the Kraken pulled ahead midway through the third period to beat Utah 4-2 on