Mammoth’s 3-goal 2nd period not enough in loss to Canadiens

The Utah Mammoth’s revenge tour came to a halt Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

They got the Vegas Golden Knights back last game after losing handily a few days prior. Their intent was to do the same with the Habs, who beat them 6-2 earlier in the month, but they just couldn’t get it done.

Here’s the story.

Quick catchup

Montreal Canadiens: 4

Utah Mammoth: 3

This one was a tale of three wildly different periods.

The Mammoth found themselves in a two-goal hole by the end of the first, but they took the lead in the second. The third went back-and-forth, but the Canadiens did enough to retake the lead and keep it.

Nine different players factored into the scoring on Utah’s goals.

Sean Durzi returned from an upper-body injury that he suffered in the second game of the season. He registered 21:34 of ice time — the second-most among Mammoth defensemen. His presence could bolster a roster that has needed help defensively.

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Tidbits and takeaways

Broken streaks

Going into this game, the Mammoth hadn’t scored a 5-on-4 goal since Oct. 26 — precisely a month. They also hadn’t allowed a goal at 5-on-4 since the same day.

Both of those streaks ended against the Canadiens.

Additionally, Barrett Hayton’s cold spell ended with his goal. He hadn’t gotten on the score sheet — goal or assist — since Oct. 28.

The penalty kill, which ranked sixth in the league when the team woke up Wednesday morning, allowed three goals, though one was disallowed due to an extremely close offside and an excellent coach’s challenge.

Head coach André Tourigny wasn’t too bothered, given the PK’s recent record.

“It’s once a month, we’ll live with that,” he said.

Better second period, worse first and third

How many Mammoth game recaps have pointed to the second period as their weakness? On Wednesday, the middle frame was their best.

Going into this game, they were net +7 in first-period goals, -10 in the second period and +6 in the third.

All three of their goals came within a span of 4:09 in the second period, though they allowed multiple goals against in both the first and third periods.

“Obviously, that was something we reviewed, something we had to be better at,” Hayton said of the second period. “Overall, game-wise, we need a second to reflect on exactly what it is.”

What’s going on with the goaltending?

Mammoth fans have seen both sides of Karel Vejmelka this season: the one that can steal a game and the one that can’t stop a beach ball.

They got the latter on Wednesday.

Looking at full-season stats, Vejmelka currently sits at the middle of the pack in the most telling stats. Out of the 38 goalies to play at least 10 games this season, he’s:

• 20th in goals-against average (2.84),
• 27th in save percentage (.886),
• 27th in goals saved above average (-5.62),
• 20th in high-danger save percentage (.814).

While he has shown that he’s capable of playing at an elite level, he hasn’t done it consistently enough to deserve the starter’s net every night.

In this game in particular, he struggled to track passes and rebounds, which led to a few goals that he could have otherwise saved.

Tourigny offered an explanation a few days prior, saying that when the team suppresses shots the way Utah does, it hurts the goaltenders’ stats. In a conversation with Vejmelka a few days later, he refused to blame it on the math.

Instead, he said he just needed to play better.

Vítek Vaněček hasn’t been great, either, so it’s hard to rely on him in Vejmelka’s stead. If Utah is going to make the playoffs, they either need one of these guys to step up or they need to bring in someone else that can get the job done.

Goal of the game

Yamamoto from Guenther and Cooley

Kailer Yamamoto did a good job to find open space, but the goal wouldn’t have happened without Logan Cooley’s hard work in the corner and Dylan Guenther’s brilliant pass.