After their seven-game win streak concluded, the Utah Mammoth found themselves one shot away from a three-game losing skid — but Clayton Keller wouldn’t let that happen.
Less than a minute into overtime against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, Mammoth captain Clayton Keller picked up the puck in the offensive zone, gathered a burst of speed, exploited a gap in defensive coverage and tucked it under the pad of Alex Lyon.
Here’s the story of the Mammoth’s 2-1 overtime win against the Sabres.
Quick catchup
Utah Mammoth: 2
Buffalo Sabres: 1
It took 44 minutes of playing time for the first goal of the game to be scored — the longest of any Mammoth game this season by nearly 15 minutes.
Nick Schmaltz finally broke the ice four minutes into the third period on a brilliant no-look pass from Keller.
But the Sabres didn’t wait long to tie it back up. Less than four minutes later, Noah Östlund put it in the back of the net for his first career NHL goal.
The Mammoth likely considered challenging the goal, as there may have been a missed stoppage of play for a high-stick just before the goal. They opted not to, though, because the height at which Isak Rosén touched the puck was about at shoulder-level, which is the determining factor on a stoppage of play.
Had the puck gone directly in after that, though, instead of bouncing to Östlund, it would not have counted because the determining factor in that situation is the height of the crossbar.
Shortly after that, Lawson Crouse scored for the Mammoth, but the goal was immediately waved off on the grounds that Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon had the puck covered.
Here’s where we arrive at another nuance in the NHL rule book. Rule 78.5 xii states that a goal can be disallowed based on “when the referee deems the play has stopped, even if he had not physically had the opportunity to blow the whistle.”
All of this necessitated overtime, in which the Mammoth got what they came for: a win.
“Hell of a game from everybody,” said Mammoth head coach André Tourigny after the game. “Our four lines, our six D, our goalie were really good. ... Really proud of the way the boys played.”
Takeaways
Battle of the goalies
Both Karel Vejmelka and Alex Lyon were brick walls at the two ends of the ice, with a combined three goals on 53 shots. They both came up with some massive saves to give their respective teams the chance to win.
“It’s all about staying sharp mentally,” Vejmelka said after the game. “Just be ready for another shot. It’s simple as that.”
Vejmelka walked away with an assist on Keller’s overtime winner, which Keller said came because Mikhail Sergachev told him he had time to play the puck. Goalie points are somewhat rare, and that was Vejmelka’s first of the season.
He now has two assists in a Utah jersey, and remarkably, both came against the Sabres.
Peterka no longer a fan favorite in Buffalo
JJ Peterka was once seen as the future of the Buffalo Sabres. But after reportedly requesting a trade instead of re-signing as an RFA this summer, he was met with boos in his return to Western New York.
He said before the game that he didn’t know what to anticipate as far as a reception from the home crowd.
“I always had a good relationship with the fans and they were always good to me, so we’ll see,” he told the media.
On the other hand, there were a number of fans that showed up with signs in support of the 23-year-old winger.
While mixed messages from the fans were inevitable, nobody would have predicted the same from the Sabres’ game ops staff. Teams usually play tribute videos for longstanding stars who contributed greatly during their time there.
Peterka, who spent five years in the organization and finished top-three on the team in goals each of the last two seasons, definitely fit the mold of a tribute-worthy player, but it didn’t happen.
He did get the last laugh, though, as he walked away with not only the win, but also the game hat — the Mammoth’s game MVP award, as decided by the previous winner.
A captain’s heroics
First thing’s first: The nickname “Captain Clutch” has been thrown around far too often in reference to Clayton Keller. He has shown up in some big moments, but until he scores the gold medal-winning goal in three separate Olympics, that title belongs to Marie-Philip Poulin and Marie Philip Poulin only.
That being said, it’s remarkable how Keller can turn it up when he’s needed. That was absolutely the story on Tuesday, as he set up Utah’s first goal and scored their second.
“There’s going to be ups and downs in the game, bad turnovers when you have the right intention — sometimes that’s hockey. That’s the way things happen. But it’s how you respond, and I think we responded really well to the goal we gave up," Keller said after the game.
Matt McConnell, Utah’s beloved play-by-play announcer, gave him a better nickname when calling the goal: “Clayton Clutch.” I propose that this be his official moniker.
Goal of the game
Keller’s OT winner
This one can’t be a surprise, right?
Pay particular attention to Sergachev on this play. As Sabres forward Alex Tuch chases Keller around the zone, Sergachev subtly sets a pick, which opens the lane for Keller to walk all the way in.
Keller’s presence of mind to take that time and space to make a move is equally important.