What will it take for Utah HC to get back on track against Bruins?

The Utah Hockey Club and the Boston Bruins are more similar than people realize.
Both teams have underperformed, based on the expectations of many. Players on both teams are starting to get frustrated. Both teams hope there’s still enough runway to turn the season around.
Here are some other, more detailed similarities between the two teams:
Although these teams rarely see each other and they aren’t competing for the same playoff spots, it kind of feels like Thursday’s game is a must-win for both teams. They need to get things back on track if they’re going to be playoff teams.
In an attempt to turn their season around, the Bruins announced Tuesday afternoon that they had fired head coach Jim Montgomery. Joe Sacco, who has been an assistant coach for the Bruins since 2014, will take over as interim head coach.
These two teams have already met this season, and it was a close one.
Neither team struck the score sheet until the midway point of the second period, when a weak shot from Cole Koepke squeaked between the pads of Connor Ingram to put the Bruins on the board.
All signs pointed to a 1-0 Bruins win until Utah HC defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok — perhaps the most unlikely of heroes — took matters into his own hands. He accepted a cross-ice pass on the rush, cut around the Bruins defender and roofed one on the backhand to tie the game.
Michael Kesselring, who grew up a Bruins fan, would score in overtime to steal the game for the home squad.
The most obvious area of potential improvement after last game for Utah is the power play. You can’t go 0 for 7 and expect to beat a good team like the Capitals.
It’s not that the penalty kill wasn’t doing anything right — they hit the post five times and they had a number of solid chances that just didn’t get past Charlie Lindgren.
But posts and good saves don’t put numbers on the scoreboard.
“It’s easy to sit here and say we hit crossbars, but that’s no excuse,” Lawson Crouse said after the game. “We’ve got to find a way to put the puck in the back of the net. … We were 0 for 7 — That’s not good enough.”
Utah has just one power play goal in November. Improving the power play will be critical to getting its season back on track.
Additionally, it might be time for a change to the defense group. Kolyachonok has not played since Nov. 2 — not because he did anything wrong, it’s just that his teammates were playing well enough to stay in the lineup.
Kolyachonok is notoriously the first player on the ice at practice every day and is often the last one to leave. There’s no question he wants to play, and it seems like he knows what to do against the Bruins.
The game starts at 5 p.m. MDT. It will be shown on both Utah HC+ and Utah 16.