The Utah Mammoth are only two days into the preseason and they’ve already suffered three losses — most recently, a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.
Should fans be worried? Here are some thoughts.
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Why is there so much fighting in the NHL preseason?
In three preseason games, Utah’s players have already been involved in seven fights. That’s much higher than their regular season average last year: a little more than one fight every three games.
That’s largely because the preseason has so many players trying to make their marks. Aside from Gabriel Landeskog and Lawson Crouse, none of the fighters on the Mammoth have ever played a full NHL season.
They want to get noticed any way they can, and fighting can certainly do that.
Utah’s Curtis Douglas has dropped the gloves twice already, both times taking on big-bodied individuals. Of course, next to him, most people look small — Douglas is listed at 6-foot-9, 242 pounds.
Another reason for fighting is in response to what’s perceived as dirty or otherwise unfair hits. That was the case in several of the fights on Sunday and again in Ben McCartney’s tilt with Tyson Hinds Monday.
The “code” in hockey often involves answering for your actions, and when players choose not to answer that bell, they’re often subjected to retaliative cheap shots.
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Preseason games don’t matter, but that doesn’t mean Utah should be OK with losing
Utah has suffered two blowouts and one close loss so far this preseason. This time of year is largely experimental and the home team typically ices the better roster early on, but that shouldn’t make the Mammoth comfortable with losses.
It doesn’t take long for bad habits to develop. They’re not at that point yet, but the second they start feeling comfortable after losses, they’ll know they have to change something.
Again, it’s way, way, way too early to even think about panicking, but that doesn’t make these losses positive for the Mammoth.
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Utah’s power play looked good — even though the scoreboard didn’t agree
It’s not often that a team goes 0-for-5 on the power play and gets praised for it — but here goes.
The Mammoth spent most of that power play time Monday in the offensive zone, with full control of the puck. They had plenty of scoring chances with the man-advantage, but sometimes the puck luck just isn’t there.
Aside from Barrett Hayton, who is out on a day-to-day basis with an injury, that was Utah’s projected first power play unit. Of course, they weren’t necessarily playing against an entire NHL-caliber penalty kill group, but they looked good nonetheless.
The quicker they can get into midseason form, the better they’re going to do when the puck drops for real on Oct. 9.
What’s next?
The Mammoth’s next game will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where the Golden Knights await them. Tune in at 8 p.m. MDT on Thursday.