The Utah Mammoth play their second-ever home playoff game Monday night as they continue their first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Mammoth beat the Golden Knights 4-2 Friday to take a 2-1 series lead, and ESPN’s Steve Levy, who will be calling Monday’s game, likes the Mammoth’s chances of winning the series.
“Make no mistake, the Mammoth could absolutely win this round. They showed it. Listen, they might have been the better team in Game 1, where they lost,” he told the Deseret News Friday before Utah’s win.
Though he’ll remain neutral during the broadcast, Levy said “a part of me will be rooting for Utah. You want to see good things happen to good people, and it’s also good for hockey. It’s good for the sport. We get some new blood here and get them going and have them have success.”
Difference-makers for the Mammoth
How far does Levy see the Mammoth making it in the playoffs?
“The Mammoth are right there, and they easily could win this first round. But then the challenge gets much deeper and a second round would be tough, and then a conference final against, I would think one of the teams in the Central Division, would be really hard,” he said.
For the Mammoth to advance to the second round, “it’s goaltending above all” for Levy.
Fortunately for Utah, he considers Karel Vejmelka “a quality goaltender,” though he worries about Vejmelka’s fatigue from the regular season.
“But he’s looked really good in the first two games. Again, these two days off between games three and four will help him. And I think he’s an upper-tier goalie in the NHL, so let’s start with that. Once you have that and you eliminate that question mark, that immediately puts you in,” Levy said.
Then, it comes down to how Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, who scored in Friday’s game, and Mikhail Sergachev play.
“I know sitting with (Mark Messier and P.K. Subban) in the studio, they love Guenther. They love the way he fires the puck — he’s not afraid. Cooley and Keller obviously are already NHL stars. For Keller to make the Olympic team, that’s all you have to know, right? He’s an Olympian; he’s among the NHL’s elite. And Sergachev — we know what the Mammoth organization thinks of him. We’re massive fans of Sergachev on the blue line. I think Tampa Bay still misses him," Levy said.
Playoff hockey at the Delta Center
According to the longtime broadcaster, fans at the Delta Center should expect an intensity “ratcheted up to such a high level that it would be impossible to play at this level for 82 regular-season games.“
“Regular-season hockey and Stanley Cup playoff hockey are so different. It’s almost like it’s a different sport,” Levy said. “It’s actually played differently. The players play differently, the coaches coach differently. Some would say the officials referee the games differently, too — the league won’t like that — but some would say that.”
Before relocating to Utah and becoming the Mammoth, the Arizona Coyotes last made the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2020 for the expanded “bubble” playoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I never got to Mullett Arena, which everyone talked about the 5,000-seat capacity. I know the NHL was petrified that the Coyotes would have success in the playoffs and make it to the Stanley Cup, and you’ve got only 5,000 people in the building. That would have been a total disaster for everyone involved,” he said.
Levy, who was at the Utah Hockey Club home opener, asked ESPN to be assigned to a Mammoth playoff game. The network granted his wish, putting him on the broadcast team for Monday’s game.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s going to be like for an NHL playoff game. My expectations are it’ll be rocking in there,” he said. “Some of that will matter on what happens tonight. I’m not in the business of rooting for teams, but I really was rooting for the Mammoth to win at least one game in Vegas so Salt Lake City would be all fired up.”
‘Off-the-charts’ owners
Everything Levy has heard from players about Mammoth owners Ryan and Ashley Smith “has been off the charts,” he said.
“Quite frankly, every team doesn’t love their owner the way it seems like the Mammoth enjoy the Smiths. So that’s a big part of it, doing things the right way. That means spending money, but that’s also being — that’s also having feelings. That’s caring. That’s about the families," he said.
According to Levy, two areas where he’s heard the Mammoth and the Smiths stand out are the treatment of players’ families and the state of the team’s facilities.
“You want to have a great practice facility, and obviously, the Mammoth have that going. And I know they keep making renovations to the Delta Center. Quality of life goes a long way. It’s not just top dollar anymore. Guys want to make money, but they want to go someplace they’re going to be treated great and that means their families, too. It sounds like Utah’s off to a great start with that,” he said.
Game 4 will be broadcast on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
