It was a lot closer than they might've wanted it to be. It was a lot uglier than they probably wanted it to be. However, the Utah Mammoth prevailed and held off the points-hungry Pittsburgh Penguins, winning their seventh game of the season by a score of 5-4.
It was a game full of highs and lows for the Mammoth. We usually start with the highs. Let's start with the lows.
For yet another game, the penalty kill wasn't great. The Penguins' power play went two for two as the Mammoth's PK continues to sink to the bottom of the league. It currently sits as the fifth-worst unit in the league, operating at a 68.8% success rate.
To be fair, the very first goal was a deflection in front of the net. There was nothing most of the players could do when Erik Karlsson unloaded his shot for his first goal of the season. The second one, though, was very much preventable.
"The second one was way too high," head coach André Tourigny said. "That's too bad because that was pre-scouted. That was addressed after the first period. We knew that was a hole, and we tried to prevent it and explain how to be lower, and we gave up that easy walk-in. That's a breakdown. That should not have happened."
The Mammoth's power play did go one for two, with Nick Schmaltz scoring a beautiful goal right in front of Artūrs Šilovs, having the patience to go forehand to confuse the goalie before putting the puck in on his backhand. The unit stays first in the NHL, now at a 36.1% success rate.
The Mammoth once again struggled to close out a game. We've seen them do it recently against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Monday was no different. After tallying 16 shots in the first period alone, they only managed 13 in the final two frames.
"I wish we'd keep putting pucks behind in the third period and go grind them deep in their zone, and we try to make more plays with the lead," Tourigny said. "It's a little bit a part of the game we could have done a little bit better."
The Penguins slowly worked their way back into the game, scoring two goals towards the end of the game to make it 5-4. The Mammoth failed to get possession of the puck and seal the deal with an empty-net goal, leading Sebastian Cossa to make some critical saves, including a massive pad save on Sidney Crosby with seconds remaining. You have to hit the empty net in moments like these because if Crosby had sunk that puck in, this might've been a different story.
Let's talk about Cossa. It wasn't an A-plus game from him. It wasn't his best game of the season. However, when he had to, he made some pretty good saves. It wasn't easy for him, especially early on when he didn't face a lot of shots. However, in his first start at the Delta Center, it was a solid showing.
"I'm feeling a lot better every day," Cossa said. "First home game for me, so that's a new experience. Every game, I'm feeling better and better, and every day I'm feeling better. I'm just continuing to grow, and I'm feeling good right now."
It's a great confidence booster for Cossa as well, going forward. You could tell this win really energized him. Nate Schmidt could tell too, going through the goalie hug line.
"He squeezed me pretty hard after that last one, but he deserves it," Schmidt said. "I might have an oxygen tank. When we needed him, he was great tonight, and that's the most important part for a young goalie."
Speaking of the blueline, they were dealt a bad hand going into this one, with John Marino being ruled out with an upper-body injury. Nick DeSimone stepped in, and Andrew Peeke was elevated to the second pairing alongside Schmidt. Despite not being paired with Marino for the first time in a long time, Schmidt had a great game, scoring off a rocket of a shot from the blueline-his first of the season.
Schmidt also got an assist on a Kailer Yamamoto goal, the forward's fifth point in five games. The defenseman, alongside Mikhail Sergachev, finished as a plus-two. He brought up a good point. No matter how good he and Marino are, if a situation like this happens and the defensemen don't know how to play with other defense partners, it won't turn out well for the Mammoth.
"We were playing with a little bit of everybody tonight, and that's just the coaches having a lot of trust in all of our guys, and I think that's an amazing attribute for our defense core to be able to have that," Schmidt said. "If you feel like you have to be married to a certain pair or two, it locks up your matchups a little bit."
Kevin Stenlund also had a fantastic game. He scored his first of the season and got an assist on Schmidt's goal. On his line, Daniil But also stood out, grabbing an assist and being deployed by Tourigny with under two minutes remaining to defend the lead.
"Helluva performance from our fourth line," Tourigny said. "Stenny, Booter, and Bainer played rock-solid, physical, simple, and effective. Really happy about their game."
Overall, it was a game the Mammoth should've easily won. Considering the Penguins were coming into this one on a three-game losing streak, and players like Crosby and Karlsson were struggling offensively, with the start the Mammoth had, it should've been an easier win.
There were certainly errors, and there are certainly things the team needs to clean up heading into a one-game road trip in the Pacific Northwest. However, there was a little bit of good everywhere in the lineup and in most of the team's play. A win is a win, and it gives the locker room a positive vibe heading into a two-day break and Thursday's game.
"The guys played really well tonight," Cossa said. "It wasn't the prettiest of games, but at the end of the day, we got the win. That's the most important thing."
The Mammoth will head on the road for one game to play the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken are 5-3-1 and are coming off an 8-3 loss to the Florida Panthers. They'll play the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday before the Mammoth come to town.
