A few years ago, the Florida Panthers had a hard time selling tickets. On Saturday, they sold out a preseason game.
What changed?
Winning the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons is a good start, but in this particular instance, it had more to do with who they were playing: the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The “Battle of Florida” has become one of the fiercest rivalries in the NHL. The close distance, both teams’ recent success and three playoff series in five years against each other combine for a bitter (but fun) hatred among both the fans and the players.
That particular game was the third consecutive matchup between the two teams. There were a combined 525 penalty minutes handed out.
For context, that’s more than twice as many minutes as the Mammoth’s Liam O’Brien played last year. There were also several suspensions to several players and fines to the Lightning and their head coach.
The Utah Mammoth haven’t existed long enough to have any full-blown rivalries, but fans are starting to show disdain for nearby teams’ fan bases. One of those is the Colorado Avalanche, whom they face in their season opener on Thursday night.
Mammoth defenseman Olli Määttä can feel a rivalry budding.
“We always have good games against these guys, tough games,” he said. “I think the divisional games, when you face a team that many times, there’s always going to be a little extra. You’re fighting for the same (playoff) spot, so that brings it.”
Avalanche superstar Cale Makar agreed.
“I feel like any division games are obviously a rivalry because they’re bigger points,” he told the Deseret News. “The fans, they seem like they’re really into it.”
Määttä knows first-hand how a healthy rivalry can impact a team. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the height of their rivalry with the Washington Capitals.
“When you face a team so many times in the playoffs, that’s going to make it better and better. Didn’t matter what month it was, really. When you played against the Caps, you’re just amped up for that game. You knew it’s going to be a tough one. You knew there was going to be extra emotion there and it was never going to be easy. There’s always something extra.
“You get a little nervous, you get very excited, you just get amped up. There’s no need for any extra motivation for those games.”
What will it take for the Utah Mammoth to develop true rivalries?
Talking to several players in the Avalanche and Mammoth locker rooms, one thing was clear. In generational superstar Nathan MacKinnon’s words, “A playoff series is kind of when you build rivalries.”
Imagine playing the same team seven times in a row. That’s a lot, but at the same time, your entire season hinges upon just seven games — sometimes less.
For that reason, the games have a higher level of intensity. Every shift matters, and the players play in a way that reflects that. Utah has yet to compete in the postseason, but if things go the way they plan, the Mammoth will be there next spring.
And if they are, the current playoff format makes it likely that they’ll meet the Avalanche in the first round.
Another factor is past events. In a preseason game against the Avalanche on Sept. 21, Zakhar Bardakov laid a hit from behind on Mammoth star Logan Cooley. Lawson Crouse made him answer for it, but because it caused Cooley to miss the rest of the preseason, he might be wise to keep his head up on Thursday.
Cooley, who’s set to play on Thursday for the first time since the hit, wants to get back at him for it — but not in a physical way.
“My talk will be putting the puck in the net, and hopefully we get a win,” he said. “That’ll be enough.”
