Game Recap, Toronto Maple Leafs, utah-mammoth

Oh no, Canada

Your Favorite Hockey Guy in Utah

November 5, 2025

^{Does the coaching staff even listen to my advice?}

The Mammoth crossed the border for the 3rd time in 5 games, visiting the Toronto and the Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena. Utah’s second game in a back-to-back against a much improved Buffalo team ended in overtime, shortening their rest time even further. How would they respond to a rested, top-heavy and veteran Maple Leafs team?

FIRST PERIOD:
Turns out, Utah decided to start the game off with high intensity, with a chance coming less than 30 seconds into the game. They dominated play for the first few minutes, forcing play on the Toronto side of the ice for all but one quick chance. Once the Maple Leafs established themselves, the teams traded some back and forth shots, with a Nylander chance that was denied by Vitek Vanecek, starting in place of Karel Vejmelka.

Play continued to be mostly conservative for both teams the first 6+ minutes, with neither getting a decisive advantage. Utah had more zone pressure, but no real quality chances developed. This changed, however, when Olli Maatta coughed up the puck in the defensive zone. Toronto had a great chance as a spinning shot was saved by Vanecek, and the rebounds was just pushed wide. Another opportunity with the dangerous Toronto first line saw John Tavares (FTG) hit the post on a wide open shot. The first line had another chance, and pressure, when Austin Matthews connected from a high clearing pass. His centering pass hit Mikhail Sergachev’s skate, getting out of danger. On that possession, however, Kailer Yamamoto, playing in his third straight game – took a stick to the face from Tavares. Utah had the first power play of the night.

The power play has struggled as of late, ice cold in their last 9 attempts coming into the game. This advantage, however, saw fairly significant ice time. When Toronto cleared, Utah’s PP1 unit did not have trouble re-establishing zone possession. Nick Schmaltz had a good look in the slot, but he shot Clayton Keller’s feed into Anthony Stolarz’ chest for the save. The 2nd unit struggled, as the Leafs had a short handed 2 on 1 break, but the shot was deflected. No other chances for either team happened before the penalty expired, leaving it scoreless.

Fresh out of the box, Tavares had a shot that Vanecek kicked aside. Toronto, however, was energized after the power play, with old alum Matias Maccelli getting an attempt that was denied, as well as an odd man rush break that Vanecek made a fantastic stop on. Utah almost had a break going the other way, but some sloppy play and a bad pass removed that opportunity before even entering the Maple Leafs’ zone.

Late in the period, following yet another Toronto push, the third line made some magic happen. Jack McBain cleared a puck up out of the zone that Lawson Crouse chased down. While skating around the net, he threw the puck in front. Michael Carcone, who has been playing fantastic hockey as of late, elevated the puck over an unprepared Stolarz for the opening goal. 1-0 Utah

Utah spent the last minute pushing some more, with Dmitri Simashev aiming for, but missing, his first goal of his career. Play was open back and forth, but nothing was established and the horn sounded.

SECOND PERIOD:
Hey, what have I been saying about second periods? Utah needed to not lose this period tonight, and Toronto was the perfect opponent to take to task. Toronto, as I noted, is the worst second period team in the league, with the worst goal differential and most goals given up. If the Mammoth could take advantage here, or at least not lose the period, they could enter the 3rd period on a strong note.

Mirroring the first period, Utah started out shooting and pressuring the Leafs, with a shot 20 seconds in and some solid zone pressure over the first 90 seconds. Toronto would counter with an odd man rush, again, as Toronto’s lone opportunity missed the net. They would pressure the Mammoth over the next several minutes, as Utah’s passes were picked off at center ice, clearing attempts were stopped, and Toronto won more board battles.

Utah survived the onslaught initially, but a bad defensive play by Simashev led to pressure by Toronto’s top line. Tavares threw the puck at the net, where it ended up rolling right in front of the crease for William Nylander, who buried the puck behind Vanecek. Game tied up as Utah gives up yet another second period goal. 1-1 Tied

The Mammoth struggled to regain composure immediately after the goal, and Toronto continued to push play in their zone. Utah managed a meager push, when Simashev tried to rush the zone like a forward, and they had one solid attempt when Yamamoto hit an open Stenlund at the top of the dot, but Stolarz had position and kept Utah from regaining the lead.

The kid line came out for the faceoff, had some good forechecking lead to a turnover, but Dylan Guenther missed his shot from the slot. The Mammoth were then forced back again into their zone, with the Maple Leafs top line bullying them the entire shift. Utah had a momentary clear, but the Toronto second line got the puck in deep, old friend Maccelli sent out a centering pass to – who else? – Austin Matthews and his “Free Candy in the Van” mustache, who ripped it from the high slot past Vitek for the first Toronto lead of the game. 2-1 Toronto

Utah’s third and fourth lines had an energetic push in response, and Peterka and Cooley had a great chance 2 on 1, but Cooley got nothing on the shot and nothing transpired. The Leafs took a penalty on the scrum after that play, and Utah was again looking to convert with the man advantage.

The second power play started out much worse than the first, as the Mammoth weren’t able to establish much momentum. They forced a delay of game penalty, one that would be called on 31 other teams, but can’t let Toronto be down 2 men, and the favorite failsons of the NHL were able to kill the rest of the play. Barrett Hayton had a breakaway, but was tripped up by Brendan Carlo on what could potentially have been called as a penalty shot. It wasn’t, a Utah power play remained ice cold, despite Guenther and the 2nd unit having a couple of shots, and the Mammoth once again came away empty handed.

As it looked like Utah was going to leave the period as a complete disaster, a bit of fortune arose out of hard work. With about 3 minutes to go, great forecheck pressure by the fourth line caused a turnover deep. The puck came out to Simashev, who dished over to Sergachev. His long range wrister somehow got by Stolarz, who seemed to be shocked about what happened, and the Mammoth brought it back even. Bring out the tape for the puck, Simashev finally got his first point. 2-2 Tied

With half a minute to go, Toronto kindly checked themselves at the Utah line, preventing further problems in another terrible second period, and the teams headed to the locker rooms tied, though Utah would be shorthanded to start the third.

THIRD PERIOD:
The Mammoth came into the third down Jack McBain, who took a cross-checking penalty at the end of the period. Shockingly, the Maple Leafs powerhouse first line all play on PP1 but are not performing well. This continued with the Mammoth PK unit, bending by letting play cycle deep, but not breaking and keeping the Leafs without a shot. However, a bouncing puck at the line as time expired for the penalty left Utah facing a 4 on 2. Vanacek was able to get over to absolutely rob the attempt by Nick Robertson, and his rebound, keeping Utah from falling behind.

Play continued to favor Toronto past the power play, as the first 4 minutes seemed to be played exclusively in the Mammoth end. Missed passes and turnovers kept Utah pinned, but they were able to escape the pressure and the game continued on.

Despite not giving up a goal in the first 5, Toronto seemed to just overwhelm Utah. What little pressure the top lines were able to provide were turned away quickly, as Toronto had a jump, the physicality, and the positioning to beat Utah across all zones. Nearly halfway into the period, a puck battle lost by Ian Cole in the corner directed towards Tavares. Tavares, surrounded by three Mammoths, was able to bury the puck past Vanecek, as none of the Utah forwards seemed to know where the puck was, or where their defensive marks were. It seemed inevitable the way they were playing. 3-2 Toronto

Toronto played a Utah style game, swarming any entries Utah made, cleared pucks deep into the Utah zone, and clogged the middle of the ice when Utah established any potential momentum. The third line was the only line to get some pressure, aside from one excellent chance from the first line, but Utah remained unable to erase the deficit.

Time ticked away, as Utah was just outskated and outmatched. This was clear as Toronto beat out Utah to more than one icing, and despite pressing their advantage against a tired opponent, Toronto seemed content to just frustrate a tired Utah team.

With under 5 to play, Toronto took advantage again. Maccelli, already with an assist on the night, took a pass from Dakota Joshua, passed back to him using the boards behind Vanecek as a bumper, then got the return from Joshua. Maccelli circled up and wristed past Vanecek for the two goal lead. A scrum ensued, the first fight that Utah showed all period, but it was too late to reverse the damage. 4-2 Toronto

Down 2 goals, Andre Tourigny pulled Vanecek with over 3 minutes to play, hoping that this time, the first time in history, Utah could do the impossible and score with 6 attackers. History, however, seems to repeat itself time after time with Utah. No pressure, one shot, and 30 seconds later, Utah once again saw a goal on 6 on 5. Once again, this goal was not theirs. 5-2 Toronto

With 2 minutes left in the game, and the game well in hand, a little bit of lazy play from Toronto allowed an opportunity by the Mammoth. Nate Schmidt from behind Utah’s net saw Dylan Guenther get open on the left wing in the neutral zone. Collecting the pass perfectly off the boards, Guenther went in on Stolarz, slipping the puck five hole, making the score a little more respectable. 5-3 Toronto

Utah knew how effective they were with a 6 on 5 situation, so again decided to pull Vanecek. Trying their best to allow Toronto the rare two empty net goal game, Utah was kind enough to not endanger the 2 goal lead. A moment of worry, as Anthony Stolarz had thoughts of an empty net goal. His shot never made it out of the zone, but it didn’t matter as the final horn sounded.

3 GOALS (THE GOOD):

Dmitri Simashev is proving to be the real deal. He was on the ice for goals against again, however had several great defensive plays against a potent Toronto top line. He’s got great puck awareness, skates smoothly and effortlessly, his stickwork is strong, his intelligence is on point, and he’s hard to move off the puck. And he’s 20, with weight and muscle still to come.

One of the most underrated plays of the game had him stretch out and keep the puck in the offensive zone as Utah tried to extend their lead. Nothing came of it, but his efforts are there. He puts it out there, 100% night after night.

He’s not there offensively yet. He’s missing shots high, and his release seems slow. He did get his first point, an assist on a Sergachev goal, so hopefully he’s able to use that to fuel some more offensive production.

Kudos on your first point kid, here’s to hundreds and hundreds more in a Utah sweater.

Crouse and Carcone are showing fantastic chemistry. Again the two opened scoring for Utah, sparking some offensive output from a forgotten bottom 6. Their physicality has increased, as that third line led the team in hits again, with 8 of 13 from all forwards.

The third line was the most offensively productive line tonight, with some of the best chances and sustained zone pressure all game. The top 2 lines weren’t very effective tonight, sadly, but it’s good to see there’s some consistency at the tail end of the top 9.

Team Defense (the last 50 minutes) the game saw the Mammoth defense off to a really shaky start. Giving up the kind of chances they gave up halfway through the first are nearly unforgivable. Had they not been bailed out, going up against Buffalo’s defense with a multi-goal deficit is a monumental task.

When it mattered, though, they stepped up. They took control partway through the first, and suppressed shots and scoring chances against for the majority of the game. Aside from a single breakaway from a bad decision, each player bought in as usual. Hopefully Buffalo fans can eat some crow watching Peterka play defense tonight.

3 CHIRPS (THE BAD):
Logan Cooley had an ineffective night tonight. He was physical, and his physicality has increased this year, along with point totals and maturity, but tonight was just not a good night for him.

Cooley got beat at the dot, winning only 4 of his 11 faceoffs. Cooley had just one shot attempt for the gamem which went wide in the middle of the second period. He had a few bad giveaways, including one that would have been a high-danger chance/semi-breakaway that only was defused because Toronto went offside.

He’s a great player, tremendous upside, but having a cold stretch for a few games. That’s fine, it’s just hard when you’re struggling in some other aspects of the game. Not worried, though, he’s probably distracted with his paycheck. It’ll wear off, he’ll be back to his good, old (young?) productive self.

Inconsistency in the first line is just rough. Strong, but low production against the Sabres, really bad showing against Toronto. The line is not old – Schmaltz is the grandpa at 29 – but they seemed tired tonight. The third line has Carcone, Stenlund, and Crouse, all late 20s, that had far more gas in the tank. Hell, even 34 year old Tanev had like 12 minutes of ice time, and was throwing hits and scrumming it up in corners. He didn’t seem to be 100% either, but he had more to give tonight than the top line.

They faced off mainly against Toronto’s best, and gave up the most chances. It’s just one game, a tough game in a tough town with a tough back to back. However, there seems to be a trend where Schmaltz is bringing it almost every game, but every couple of games you don’t know what Keller or Hayton will bring. It’s an adventure, for sure.

Cole and Maatta were terrible tonight, especially Cole. Sure, being out on the ice for 3 of 5 goals against is bad. Sure, multiple turn overs are bad. Sure, losing puck battles along the boards to give up the game winning goal is bad. Sure, they’re not there to be defending against the top players in the league.

Were you expecting a “but”?

Cole’s been lights out lately, so he gets a pass. He’s gotta be gassed in a back to back, but that makes this weekend concerning. Maatta has struggled defensively the past 4 or 5 games. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been on the Cole hate train for a year plus, but he wouldn’t be the 7th D-man for me when Durzi gets back… unless it’s the second half of a back to back.