Things aren’t going well for the Utah Mammoth right now.
Their only wins in the month of November have come against the Buffalo Sabres, the worst team in the Eastern Conference. They’re on a four-game losing streak and they’ve fallen in nine of their last 11 contests.
Here’s the story of their 4-1 loss on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights, as well as what they need to change to get back to their winning ways.
Quick catchup
Vegas Golden Knights: 4
Utah Mammoth: 1
It all started with Cole Reinhardt’s hit to Kevin Stenlund.
There’s an argument to be made both ways as to the legality of it, as Stenlund’s head was the first point of contact, but he was also in an abnormal position.
But what everyone seemed to agree on was that it was a turning point in the game. The hit came midway through the first period. The Mammoth killed off the penalty that resulted from Brandon Tanev’s retaliative cross-check on Reinhardt, and they eventually got to the intermission.
But the emotions only got stronger as the second period started.
Jack Eichel scored three minutes in, followed by a Ben Hutton goal 17 seconds later. Nate Schmidt cut the deficit in half, but Eichel struck again before the period ended.
And boy, did it ever get chippy.
One particular post-whistle scrum, which lasted longer than most, churned out five minor penalties. Just 11 seconds later, a sixth penalty surfaced. And these weren’t the Liam O’Briens of the world — it was Logan Cooley and Mikhail Sergachev, upon whom the Mammoth heavily rely.
The crowd, which was comprised of a good split of fans from both teams, loved it. There’s nothing like bitter, nasty hockey after work on a Thursday.
Jack McBain dropped the gloves with Keegan Kolesar to begin the third period, which was probably designed to calm things down a bit, but that didn’t make the game any less intense.
The Mammoth failed to find another goal, instead allowing one to Braeden Bowman, who now has three goals and four points in five career NHL games.
Final score: 4-1 Golden Knights.
Takeaways
Emotions got the best of Utah
Teenagers, am I right?
None of the Mammoth players are in their teens anymore, but the relative inexperience of their core means they don’t have the experience dealing with highs and lows that most veterans have.
“Hockey’s an emotional game,” said Mammoth defenseman Ian Cole, whose 929 NHL games make him the most experienced player on the team.
“If we play to the point in the season which we want to play to, they’re going to be very emotional. The swings are going to be emotional. Highs are going to be great, lows are the opposite. ... We need to find a way to even-keeled through those.”
Head coach André Tourigny agrees.
“We got emotional, and we got out of our game, and they took over and (it was) difficult for us to get back at it,” he said. “So that’s disappointing.
“We got carried away, and (afterwards) we had a push in the third (period), but it’s clear we cannot have five minutes, two minutes, a few shifts where we lose our focus like that. That cost us the game.”
Games like this one can be good building blocks for young players. Veterans’ wisdom comes from their previous experiences in unfortunate situations. The good news for the Mammoth is that they’re getting this learning done now.
The playoffs are full of moments like these, so learning how to deal with them now could be beneficial for the group in the future.
“The game is a good teacher,” Tourigny said. “It’s an example for our group.”
What needs to change for Utah?
Cole said many things need to change at this point — and it all stems from attitude.
“I think it’s more of a holistic picture at this point,” he said. “Sure, there are always little details here and there, but it’s like the boat’s taking on water and we plug one hole, another hole opens.
“We need to really look at our game as a whole and our attitude and how we approach it and (figure out) whether winning matters to us.”
A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Cole has only missed the playoffs twice in his career, once in his rookie season and once last year with the Mammoth. If anyone knows what it takes to succeed, it’s him.
“We talk as a team, we talk after every game, we talk after every practice. We do a lot of talking, but we need to put stuff into practice,” he said.
“We need to take action on some of these things. It’s really disappointing to see some of the reactions that we have to adversity. It’s never going to be perfect...but we need to be able to get back to our game right away, and we tend to deviate a little too often.”
Tourigny mentioned a number of changes he’d like to see:
- Do better at 5 on 5.
- Play faster.
- Move the puck faster.
- Be more predictable for each other.
Captain Clayton Keller added that the power play needs to start contributing more.
“We were a top 10 power play last year,” he said. “We have the talent in the room, the coaching as well. ... It’s definitely on us to turn the page.”
Goal of the game
Nate Schmidt’s first as a Mammoth
There was only one Mammoth goal to choose from this time, so the decision was easy. It wasn’t particularly flashy, but it was significant in the sense that it was Nate Schmidt’s first goal against the Golden Knights.
Schmidt was one of the “Original Misfits” who reached the Stanley Cup Final in Vegas’ inaugural season. He tends to be a fan favorite everywhere he goes, but things seemed particularly good for him there.