Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) and center Brett Howden (21) celebrate the game-winning goal by Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27), not pictured, during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Brogan Houston covers the Utah Mammoth and trending news for the Deseret News.
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Utah Mammoth head coach André Tourigny has made a point of not revealing his game plan, but it can be inferred that getting out to a three-goal deficit was not part of it for Game 4.
But being down by three goals just means you’re three good shots away from tying it up.
Two of those “good shots” came 29 seconds apart in Monday’s Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center, with Nick Schmaltz and Ian Cole scoring consecutively.
The Mammoth followed it up with another pair of goals in the first 5:10 of the third period to take the lead, against all odds.
That wouldn’t stand, though, as Vegas would tie it up and later win it in the final minute of overtime for a 5-4 final score. The series is now knotted at two games apiece as the teams head back to Sin City.
Here’s where Utah went wrong.
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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Cole Smith (22) celebrates after scoring against Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Carson Froerer celebrates after the Vegas Golden Knights winning goal was overturned for offsides during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) dives on the rebound of a shot by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner (93) during the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth left wing Michael Carcone (53) beats Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) but misses the goal high during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate an overtime winning goal before it was called off for offsides during Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (5) blocks a shot during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) shoots during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Fans collect themselves after the Utah Mammoth lost 5-4 to the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) celebrates with defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) after scoring the winning goal in overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) and center Brett Howden (21) celebrate the game-winning goal by Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27), not pictured, during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) celebrates with defenseman Brayden McNabb (3), right wing Reilly Smith (19) and right wing Mark Stone (61) after scoring the winning goal in overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Fans collect themselves after the Utah Mammoth lost 5-4 to the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) makes a save against Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley (92) is checked as he tries to skate between Vegas Golden Knights right wing Reilly Smith (19) and defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Fans anxiously watch overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth right wing Kailer Yamamoto (56) slips a pass around Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Fans anxiously watch overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth right wing Kailer Yamamoto (56) skates between Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) and right wing Reilly Smith (19) during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) skates with the puck during overtime of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) pokes the puck away from his crease during the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) celebrates after scoring during the third period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth left wing Michael Carcone (53) celebrates after scoring during the third period to tie the game at 3-3 during Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth left wing Michael Carcone (53) celebrates after scoring during the third period to tie Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at 3-3 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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A young fan cheers after a goal by Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) during the third period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth center Nick Schmaltz (8) celebrates with defenseman MacKenzie Weegar (52) and left wing Lawson Crouse (67) after scoring during the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Cole Smith (22) celebrates after scoring during the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner (93) reacts after a whistle during the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) passes the puck during the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth defenseman Ian Cole (28) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth right wing JJ Peterka (77) checks Vegas Golden Knights center Tomáš Hertl (48) into the boards during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley (92) skates during warmups before Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) celebrates with left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) after scoring during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) skates past the bench after scoring a a short-handed goal against Utah Mammoth during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth right wing Dylan Guenther (11) passes the puck during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) looks on before a faceoff during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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The Vegas Golden Knights bench reacts after a shorthanded goal by Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak (6) controls the puck ahead of Utah Mammoth center Liam O'Brien (38) during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) makes a pass during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley (92) looks on before taking a faceoff during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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A young fan peers from behind a hat during the national anthem before Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Fans wave rally towels before puck drop of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak (6) attempts to push Utah Mammoth left wing Lawson Crouse (67) out of the way as he screens the view of Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth left wing Brandon Tanev (13) reacts after being tripped up during the first period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt’s wife watches the team warm up ahead of Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights fans look on during warmups before Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Fans look on before Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth center Alexander Kerfoot (15) smiles after blowing a kiss to his daughter Carrera during warmups before Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 27, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
What went wrong for the Mammoth in Game 4?
In 2024-25, Utah struggled to maintain leads. They’d get ahead and then sit back, trying to kill off the clock, rather than continuing to press. It almost inevitably ended in their lead being squandered.
This season, the Mammoth corrected that issue — and that was a key factor in their eventual playoff berth. But the old habit crept back in on Tuesday.
It stemmed from a penalty to JJ Peterka. Utah successfully killed off the entire two minutes, but they never shifted back into proactivity — they simply kept trying to kill off the clock.
Tourigny explained the situation after the game.
“It’s not just (that) you’re sitting back. It’s (that) they’re tougher to defend,” he said. “They’re coming with numbers. So, I don’t think we sat back. I thought we kept competing, having pace, going at them.
“... It’s not like they dominated us for five minutes and, whoop, we cracked. I think it was back and forth at that moment.”
While the first part of that is true, the second part is inaccurate. In fact, the time between Utah’s most recent in-zone setup and Vegas’ game-tying goal was precisely five minutes (14:35 to 9:35, for those who care to double-check).
To a lesser degree, the Mammoth encountered a similar situation in Game 3. They got out to a 4-0 lead, but gave up two in the latter half of the third period. They were fortunate to have a big enough buffer to survive, but it’s not a reliable way to win games.
Mikhail Sergachev, whose trophy case includes two Stanley Cup rings, broke it down.
“We had some times when we could have made plays, and we just opted for, like, a punt and chipped it out,” he said. “We played a little too simple. So, we’ve just got to be more on it and maybe talk to the puck carrier and help them out.”
That’s a habit the Mammoth need to fix if they’re to go anywhere from here.
Momentarily, the Mammoth had Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene to thank for the play that kept them alive in overtime.
Fans might remember when, as a member of the Colorado Avalanche in 2013, Duchene scored a goal after being offside by at least a foot. The league didn’t have a review process for offside goals at that time, so it stood, helping the Avalanche to a 6-5 win.
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That was a major factor in the NHL’s decision to institute the coach’s challenge in 2015.
In overtime, all goals are automatically reviewed by the league, which led to the conclusion that Pavel Dorofeyev’s would-be game-winner would not count due to an offside on the zone entry.
While Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella had to be called back to the bench from the coaches’ room, Tourigny had no doubt that the call would be reversed.
In the end, it wouldn’t matter, as Shea Theodore capitalized on a scrambling Utah defense and potted the overtime winner before time ran out in the first overtime frame.
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