Not quite same as the first, as Utah at least gets one point in Chicago this time.

Another game against the bottom feeder Chicago Blackhawks. Another lost opportunity against one of the worst teams in the league. The positives this time – Utah scored twice to open the game, breaking the shutout streak the lowly Blackhawks had against Utah. Then, they went on another shutout streak after the first period.

FIRST PERIOD:
The Utah Mammoth started out much better against Chicago than they did back last week. The first shift, Lawson Crouse, Logan Cooley, and JJ Peterka, immediately pressured the zone. The energy was strong, and Utah had the first chances of the match.

A missed puck at the blue line was picked up by Kailer Yamamoto, and he raced into the Chicago zone. His speed forced Artyom Levshunov back, and a drop pass by Yamamoto hit Jack McBain in stride, but the shot was turned aside by Chicago netminder, Drew Commesso, in only his second game of the year.

At roughly the 17:30 mark, Sean Durzi entered the zone on the near-side boards. He was able to threat a pass to Kevin Stenlund, who split the Chicago defense, but Stenlund couldn’t get his shot past Commesso. On the same shift in the zone, Stenlund threw a pass cross-ice to Alexander Kerfoot, who had an open look, but fanned on the shot, killing the opportunity. Michael Carcone picked up the puck at the blue line after a failed clear, and tried to deke his way past Chicago’s defense, but he was unable to get a shot off, and the Blackhawks were able to relieve the pressure with a zone clear.

At just past the 16 minute mark, the Mammoth left Connor Bedard all alone in front of the net. His snap shot went high, but not by much.

At just about 15 and a half minutes to play, Wyatt Kaiser drew a holding penalty against Barrett Hayton. The Blackhawks took off nearly a minute of delayed penalty time, but could not get any offense with the 6 on 5 advantage. However, Hayton went to the box about a minute past the infraction, giving Chicago the first power play of the night.

During the power play, Utah did a mostly good way of shutting down the Blackhawks, when Chicago wasn’t shutting down themselves. A golden opportunity for Andre Burakovsky presented itself when he received a pass from Frank Nazar, and with Vitek Vanecek out of position – playing the original shot – Burakovsky sent the puck towards the open net. However, the puck somehow, miraculously, went way further than Burakovsky intended, hitting the far post and going wide. Utah killed off the remaining minute with no further chances or opportunities.

And that was it for several minutes. Utah had some zone pressure for about 40 seconds, but Commesso covered a JJ Peterka shot for a stoppage. The following face-off was lost by Utah, but great pressure by Hayton to rush the defenseman led to a turnover by Chicago. Eventually the puck came out to Nick DeSimone, who threw the puck on net from the blue line. Hayton got his blade on the rising shot, redirecting it just under the crossbar and in. Hayton is best when he plays in front of the net, and he’s been playing there a lot more lately. 1-0 Utah

About a minute later, Dylan Guenther tried to split 4 Chicago Blackhawks players, and nearly succeeded. However, the puck was forced to the boards right as he was about to break through the last line of defense, and Chicago recovered. Again, for several minutes, nothing transpired between the teams.

With just about 6 minutes to play, Chicago knotted it up. Andrew Mangiapane, freshly over from Edmonton Oilers as part of a salary dump, got his first goal as a Blackhawk. Mangiapane rushed into the zone with a great cross-ice pass that connected with Ryan Donato. Donato, seeing Mangiapane battle and crash towards the net, threw the puck in his direction. The puck hit Mangiapane in the leg, and a fortunate bounce for the Blackhawks went past Vanecek. 1-1 Tied

A minute later, Bedard got a cross-ice pass and a wide open net, but he fanned on the one-timer and the Mammoth recovered to prevent further Chicago pressure. Levshunov got a shot in on net that Vanecek turned aside, preserving the tie.

With just under 4 minutes to play, Dylan Guenther would net his 30th of the year off a gorgeous pass from Clayton Keller. After a great defensive play by Nick Schmaltz at the blue line, Keller entered the zone on a tight 2 on 1. Louis Crevier slid on the ice, trying to take away the pass for Keller, but the captain feathered a pass directly to the stick of his sharpshooting winger. Going 5-hole on Commesso, the puck initially hit his pad, then the back of the sliding left pad, squeaking into the net. Milestone for Guenther, his first 30th goal season in his career. Congrats Gunner! 2-1 Utah

Utah’s 4th line pushed immediately after, with a fortunate bounce leading to a golden opportunity from the mid-slot by Alexander Kerfoot, but Commesso was able to stop the shot.

Despite outplaying and getting far more zone time than Chicago, the Mammoth were outshot 8 – 6.

SECOND PERIOD:
The second period was one to forget. The Blackhawks opened the period with a nearly full breakaway chance by Donato in on Vanecek, which was denied from about a foot in front of the crease.

Just a minute in, Logan Cooley got caught wrapping up Connor Bedard in the offensive zone, basically body slamming Chicago’s superstar. Holding, 2 minutes, and Chicago would get their second power play of the night. Sam Rinzel had a big blast on Vanecek early in the power play, but the Czech netminder had a big stick save to keep the Utah lead. Then, on a great short-handed rush by Schmaltz, a holding penalty on Bedard would end the Chicago advantage early.

4 on 4, Carcone tried to feed Crouse in the slot, but the play was broken up by a hold from behind. Penalties that affect scoring chances are usually whistled, mind you, but it seemed Chicago was getting the benefit of the doubt on these calls. Foreshadowing on that penalty for later in the game.

Utah did nothing with the power play.

On Bedard’s release from the box, the Blackhawks got an immediate odd-man rush, and Ilya Mikheyev ripped a shot on Vanecek that was stopped, and the rebound was just sent wide, keeping the Mammoth lead for the moment. Mikheyev, all alone in front with 0 Mammoth defensive awareness, was somehow robbed by another save by Vanecek. The highlight reel save, pictured above, saw Vanecek throw up his shoulder in desperation, knocking the puck up and out of harm’s way. Sean Durzi, meanwhile, was called for a cross-check on Mikheyev, which prevented any follow up attempts on the net – a good penalty to take considering the situation.

The suddenly squeaky clean Blackhawks got their third power play of the night. The Mammoth shut down the power play, however, with one big save against Bedard the only pressure Chicago got during the advantage.

More than 3 minutes of clogged neutral zone play kept both teams away from any real scoring chances, or anything exciting. The Mammoth got a great chance when Carcone went one on one in the Chicago end, dropping a pass for a trailing Durzi, but the shot went high.

A big kick save by Vanecek on Bedard effectively closed out the first half of the period.

Keller had a big shot alone from the near-side dot just about 40 seconds after the Bedard shot, but Commesso was able to knock it down. Guenther nearly had a highlight reel goal, as he shot from his knees, through Crevier’s legs, and past Commesso. However, the pesky cross-bar was in the way, and the shot was about half an inch from going bar-down. Instead, it rang the iron and came straight out of harm’s way. That was Utah’s last decent chance of the period, basically. Utah had a chance when Commesso was knocked down by his own players, but they couldn’t muster a shot on net.

With under 5 minutes to go, Burakovsky got the goal he missed earlier in the match. Collecting a Bedard shot that missed on the short side, the puck rolled on its end. Burakovsky was able to get it on his stick blade, and effectively Michigan the puck into the net. While Vanecek tried desperately to recover, and almost got his blocker on the stick blade to stop the chance, he just fell short. The second lucky bounce of the game again went Chicago’s way. Of course. 2-2 Tied

Utah came out flat after the goal, and Bedard nearly gave Chicago the lead. After a spin move in the slot freed him from Schmaltz’ coverage, Bedard once again nearly beat Vanecek, but Vitek got just enough of the shot – while sitting on the ice, completely vulnerable – and he deflected it up and over the net.

Pushing and shoving after the whistle was effectively the last actual action of the period, with no shots by either team the last 3 and a half minutes of the period.

Utah again outshot by the Blackhawks, 11-8. Somehow, Utah was trailing the team playing a back to back 19-14 in shots and scoring chances after two.

THIRD PERIOD:
The third period was just straight up frustrating.

The period started out well enough, with JJ Peterka smartly drawing a penalty early on, as he forced Ryan Greene into a hold. Utah’s power play, which had been so good lately, managed to miss the net on their one actual shot attempt. Shortly after, Lawson Crouse got a shot on net. This is notable because for large swaths of the period, Utah had no shots at all. In fact, from Crouse’s shot at 16:49 to 4:53, Utah got absolutely nothing on net.

The Blackhawks had some chances, all within the first 15 minutes. Utah held Chicago to no shots in the final 6 and a half minutes.

The Mammoth did have a flurry of shots late from just under 4 minutes to go. MacKenzie Weegar had a big blast from the blue line, which was saved, but the puck rolled tantalizingly by the front of the net. Sadly, none of the Mammoth players were able to get to it in time. Play continued in the zone, though and with Bedard having a broken stick, Utah got a great look in the slot from Hayton, but Commesso made the save and flopped on the puck for a stoppage.

The last chance came from a feed from behind the net by Schmaltz to a wide open Guenther. Guenther was sitting about 7 feet from the crease, and one-timed the pass, but Commesso was there to save the game for Chicago.

The Mammoth actually outshot Chicago for the first time in the past 4 periods the Mammoth had an 8-6 advantage in shots in the third period, but we’re headed to overtime. Utah trailing the shot clock 25-22.

OVERTIME
The Mammoth completely dominated the first 2 minutes of overtime, with full puck possession and 2 shots in on Commesso. However, one of the weakest tripping calls you’ll see called – in an OVERTIME no less – was called on Nick Schmaltz. Guess the league is fine with players getting screwed in Chicago…

This sent Chicago to the power play and in overtime, a power play is pretty much game over.

And it was. 3-2 thanks to the gift from the referees.

Chicago outshot the Mammoth 26-24 for the game.

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3 GOALS (THE GOOD):

Nick Olczyk There was a tribute to Troy Murray, longtime Blackhawks player and commentator, before the game. While many Utah fans would not know Troy Murray as a player or commentator, it was clear to Blackhawks fans and players that he meant a lot.

It touched close to home, however, when Nick Olczyk provided an emotional and personal story about how Murray affected his life. While Nick has been broadcasting for just a few years – since 2021 I believe – it was a touching story for Nick’s backstory and history about getting him into his role now. As a commentator that many Utah fans love, it was an intimate glimpse into the humanity that goes on behind the scenes at the NHL.

V is for Highlights? The play of Vitek Vanecek was the only reason the Mammoth got a point in this game. Utah’s forwards completely gave up on offense after the first 20 minutes, only coming to life in overtime. Meanwhile, Vanecek made 2 amazing saves on Mikheyev in the 2nd period, keeping Utah in the lead. Additionally, Vanecek was perfect against Bedard in all the big spots that he needed to be.

The advanced stats do not do Vanecek’s night justice. For example, that save with Mikheyev all alone in front, that miracle stop? That was a .2 goals saved above expected. Just like the referees tonight, the advanced metrics just screwed the Mammoth.

Vanecek has been really, really good but has been the victim of bad results from bad play in front of him. In 15 games, Vanecek’s goals against average is 2.74, slightly worse than Vejmelka’s 2.64, but he has 4-9-3 record. The problem for the Mammoth when Vanecek is in net – they simply do not score for the guy.

The Mammoth average 3.17 goals a game for the year to date. Utah’s scored a total of 32 goals for him, or 2.13 goals a game. Karel Vejmelka gets an average of 3.42 goals for per game.

One could argue that because Vanecek gets the back to back starts, the team is tired playing in front of him, but that’s not the case. 2nd game of the year, Utah got 1 goal for him in a loss against Chicago (2GAA). November 28? 3 goals for, but a 5 on 3 sunk the Mammoth and they couldn’t recover at all. December 16th? 1 goal. 23rd? Shutout against Colorado (1GAA).

While advanced stats are for nerds like me, results are for everyone. Vanecek’s got people antsy because his results aren’t there, and the advanced stats aren’t screaming that he’s the best backup in the league, but ultimately the team in front of him plays far worse than they do otherwise. As for why, I don’t know the answer to that…

Better Late Then Never? The Mammoth pushed hard in the last 4 minutes of the game, plus overtime, in a game they shouldn’t have won based on stats and the eye-test, but should have won based on talent, record, and hunger. The push at the end – as well as the push at the start of the game – was far better than the previous game against Chicago, but ultimately it was too little too late.

The pushes like that, however, are what we need to see more of. Hopefully, this was the second trap game against Chicago, as the team looked ahead to Minnesota tomorrow, and their road trip last week. Because if not…

3 CHIRPS (THE BAD):

The Level The Mammoth play to the level of their competition, and it’s just not great. Chicago, a lottery team, has beaten Utah 3 times in a row. In a tight playoff race, this is 100% unacceptable.

A playoff team, a real contender, puts away bad teams. You aren’t going to win every game, but .500 against a doormat is the minimum you should aim for. Utah hasn’t even managed that. Not only that, they play like Chicago is Colorado!

Utah is simply being outplayed by Chicago. Shots per game? Chicago gives up nearly 30, and gets just 24. The last two games against Utah? Utah was held to 22 and 24 shots respectively, while generating 28 and 26. The Blackhawks, a team incapable of outshooting any opponent, outshot Utah 6 out of 9 periods so far (not counting overtime).

It’s disgraceful how bad Utah plays against Chicago and other bad teams. If the Mammoth end up missing the playoffs, games like today’s are why.

Windy City Vezinas Chicago, for the year, has given up 3+ goals against per game. Against Utah, in 3 games, they’ve given up less than 1GAA. With a 3-1 win 2 games into the season, a shutout in Utah last week, and a 2 goal game plus overtime, Chicago’s goaltenders are somehow Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek.

How in the world can Utah fail to score on Arvid Soderblom? The second worst backup goaltender in the NHL not only got a win, but got a shutout the last time these teams played. Tonight? Drew Commesso was starting his 4th game. He gave up 4, 5, and a shutout against Nashville. Somehow, Utah decided not to pepper a kid with barely any NHL experience and a sub .900 save percentage.

Absolutely baffling how this team plays against bad competition, to the point above.

Free the Beast The best player on the 4th line is, by far, Michael Carcone. Carcone, unfortunately, is saddled with a center in Kevin Stenlund who is having his absolute worst season in his career when it comes to scoring goals.

Stenlund, a career 11.5% shooter, is averaging under 8% shooting for the first time ever. Not only is he not scoring, he’s not even taking quality shots – or trying for tips in the dirty areas. He almost got a goal against Columbus, true, but that was not because of a skilled shot or great stickwork for a tip.

Carcone is a really good player bringing crazy amounts of forward pushing play, and he’s being underutilized with linemates that aren’t complementing his style. His best output was when he played with skilled wingers, especially with Kailer Yamamoto. A Hayton, Carcone, Yamamoto reunion could be good for all three players on that line. That would push Jack McBain down to the 4th line for now, though McBain’s much better than a typical 4th line player.

McBain could also flourish more in a line that’s heavy hitting, just like he is, forcing turnovers and playing in dirty areas. As we saw tonight with Andrew Mangiapane and the other game (almost) with Kevin Stenlund, a lot of times it’s not about skill, it’s about positioning and hoping for a bounce.

While Utah’s been winning with great play from the top lines, it’ll be in the Mammoth’s best interest to tinker along the edges to help increase contribution from further down the line – and not keep playmakers bottled up whenever possible.

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Next up:

Back at it tomorrow, less than 24 hours of rest between games. Minnesota welcomes the Mammoth to St. Paul, as Utah looks for the season sweep – and 2 big points.

Tusks Up!