‘You need to have that killer instinct’: Mammoth’s 50 minutes of solid hockey not enough to beat Predators

When you spend 85% of a game either tied or leading, you expect to win — but the Utah Mammoth couldn’t pull it off on Monday against the Nashville Predators.

Here’s the story.

Quick catchup

Nashville Predators: 4

Utah Mammoth: 3

After not playing for five consecutive days, it would have been easy for the Utah Mammoth to have a slow start against the Nashville Predators on Monday, but an early power play goal from JJ Peterka showed that they were rust-free.

The rest of the game was a ping-pong match: Utah would take the lead, Nashville would tie it and Utah would take it again.

It wasn’t until the latter half of the third period that the Predators took their first lead, but the timing was perfect for them to hold on and win it.

“Tough result. Frustrating,” said Mammoth head coach André Tourigny. “We played really good for a long stretch of the game at 5-on-5, on our power play, even on our PK. ... (At) 5-on-5, I think we did a really good job defensively, but we need to find a way in key situations and key moments, when push comes to shove, to be better.”

Utah was fortunate to get a 25-second 5-on-3 with about six minutes left. The Mammoth’s first power play unit had been good all game long — and this instance was no exception — but they couldn’t beat 2022 Vezina Trophy finalist Juuse Saros.

Tidbits and takeaways

First power play unit looked great

We didn’t write a Mammoth Christmas wishlist article this year, but if we had, it would have included three items:

• For Logan Cooley to get healthy.
• To find consistency in net.
• For the first power play unit.

Those first two are still works in progress, but judging off Monday’s game, it seemed as though Santa delivered the third one.

At 5-on-4, the first power play unit managed five high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick. One of those went in, marking just their 18th power play goal through 40 games this season.

“I think it’s just the work — I mean, out-working them," Guenther said when asked what made the group successful. “They were aggressive, and we’ve got a lot of skill on the power play on both units, and when they’re going to do that, (we) just try to make plays, and, I mean, we did that.”

Just a little bit short

At least once a week, my wife asks me to grab something for her from the top shelf of the pantry. She could probably reach the things with just a little more effort, but sometimes that doesn’t happen.

That’s how this game was for the Mammoth. It was just barely out of reach.

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“We applied pressure on them and we had a bunch of great opportunities,” Tourigny said. “That is where, at some point, you need to separate yourself.

“When the opponent gives you the opportunity to create that separation, you need to have that killer instinct. You need to have that edge. We could have taken a way bigger lead at key moments. We didn’t.”

This isn’t a case of needing a major overhaul to correct errors. The Mammoth just needed one more good play on the defensive side of the puck, or to convert on a couple more chances offensively.

Steven Stamkos: One of the greatest goal scorers of all time

The Hockey Hall of Fame awaits Stamkos’ retirement. He’ll undoubtedly be inducted as soon as he’s eligible.

He added a pair of goals in Utah on Monday, bringing his all-time total to 599. Sidney Crosby scored his 600th against Utah last season.

Assuming Stamkos hits the milestone soon, he will have done it in roughly 90 games fewer than Crosby, who’s widely considered the greatest player of this generation.

Stamkos sits in 22nd place on the all-time goals list. His power play goal on Monday was the 231st of his career, meaning he’s one goal shy of cracking the top 10 all-time (Dino Ciccarelli currently holds 10th place with 232).

“He’s still one of the best players in the league, and he shows it every game,” said Mikhail Sergachev, who spent seven seasons with Stamkos when they were members of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“... He’s a pure goal scorer, pure winner.”

Playoff implications

A lot of people wrote the Predators off with their slow start to the season, but this win puts them one point shy of the Mammoth with two games in hand.

The Mammoth had the second wild card spot throughout the Christmas break, but it’s since been taken back by the San Jose Sharks. The Seattle Kraken are 4-0-1 in their last five games, which has launched them ahead of the Mammoth as well.

That increases the importance of these next few games for the Mammoth. They’ll get to spend New Year’s in New York, but they can’t get caught up in all of the hullabaloo — they have a job to do.

Goal of the game

Peterka from Guenther on the power play

Goal-scorers are often praised higher than playmakers, but Peterka doesn’t score this goal if Guenther doesn’t make the elite pass to set him up.