A good time to get their first win against the Kings, letting Utah keep distance in the wildcard race

The Utah Mammoth faced a Los Angeles Kings team who traveled to the Delta Center for their second half of a back to back. Both teams badly needed the points. The Kings, chasing both Utah for a wildcard spot, and the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers for a divisional playoff spot, have had a rough schedule since the Olympics ended. The Mammoth, with more points than most of the Pacific division, only need enough points to stay ahead of 3rd place in the Pacific division, and keep away a surging Nashville Predators team trying to hunt them down.

FIRST PERIOD:
The pace of the first period was intense, and Utah jumped out with a huge amount of energy. The Mammoth threw a number of shots early on Darcy Kuemper, getting 6 on net before the 5 minute mark passed. The best early chances came with about 3 minutes gone; Clayton Keller picked up the puck from behind the net, feeding Nick Schmaltz about 8 feet out from the lower quarter of the face-off circle. Kuemper was able to stop the shot, and the follow up rebound from Lawson Crouse’s backhand attempt.

Neither Crouse or Schmaltz would do anything else all game. Probably.

A minute after the flurry by Schmaltz and Crouse, Barrett Hayton fed a cross-ice pass to Jack McBain. McBain had a clear lane from the face-off dot through to Kuemper, but his shot wasn’t able to get by.

Scott Laughton got the first shot in on Karel Vejmelka up in close, a backhander from a scrum that Veggie was able to track easily for his first save of the game.

John Marino had an amazing shift here at the 13:30 mark. After Utah gained the zone, a missed shot was about to leave the zone when Marino, just freshly on the ice, raced to keep the puck in. After some weaving by Keller and Schmaltz, a deflected puck went to Sam Helenius. Marino collapsed in on him immediately, forcing a turnover. Marino took the puck behind the net and, finding Crouse in the exact same spot Schmaltz was earlier in the game, let the pass go. Helenius misplayed Crouse’s position, allowing the Sherriff to rip a one-timer short side to bear Kuemper for the lead. 1-0 Utah

The best thing about the 2026 Mammoth is they’re really great at holding … and it’s tied.

With JJ Peterka forechecking, the Kings were able to cycle the puck up the boards. Dylan Guenther missed his man, allowing the puck to get to the blue line. MacKenzie Weegar went to chip the puck to Peterka, who had time to circle the net and head to the upper slot. However, Weegar’s pass went right to a Kings stick.

The biggest problem? Logan Cooley pinched in trying to get that pass, trapping himself behind the attacking Kings forwards. Weegar, flatfooted on his pass attempt, was unable to get back. The only defense left was Mikhail Sergachev in a 3 on 1. While Sergachev played his positioning perfectly, Alex Laferriere chose to take the shot himself, and beat Karel Vejmelka between the glove and pad. 36 seconds after Utah takes the lead, Utah gives up the lead. 1-1 TIED

The pushback from Utah was immediate, with 2 golden chances against Kuemper. First, Kevin Stenlund had a crack at it from the dead center of the low slot, but Stenlund has hands of stone and can’t place shots. Ian Cole ripped a shot off the rebound, but it, too, was denied.

Off a blocked shot, Sean Durzi raced back to keep pace with the Kings offense, but was yanked down to the ice. Vejmelka, not wanting to face a breakaway, came way out of the crease to play the puck up the boards. An entry by Kailer Yamamoto led to some good passing, and a good board battle keep by Weegar. The puck came out to Crouse at the blue line, who ripped a shot way wide. However, the puck came back out to Alexander Kerfoot, who circled up at the dot. While he did this, Crouse skated to the far dot, positioning in an open spot for a pass. Kerfoot nailed the pass, and Crouse nailed the shot, up and over Kuemper’s shoulder. 2-1 Utah

The best thing about the 2026 Mammoth is they’re really great at holdi… god damnit.

Apparently, giving up a lead in 36 seconds was some sort of challenge for the Mammoth, who said hold my beer (or Swig). 38 seconds was all it took this time. Brandt Clarke shot in a weak wrister from the blue line as the Kings entered the zone. Vejmelka saved the puck, but his rebound control was… bad. He left the puck out about 6 feet to his right.

Trying to poke the puck away from a dangerous area, instead of letting Marino get to it, Veggie poked the puck directly to the stick of Quinton Byfield. Byfield had a goal with no netminder, and even though Vejmelka had been knocked out of position while trying to get back, it’s not interference when he’s out of the crease that far, and Byfield tied it up. I can nearly copy paste what I said above. 38 seconds after Utah takes the lead, Utah gives up the lead. Sigh. 2-2 TIED

OK, at least the next 10 minutes didn’t see lead changes within 20 seconds. The teams remained tied through the horn.

Not for lack of trying, though. Utah played a heavier game than I can remember after that Byfield goal, laying hits most of the rest of the period. The captain had a beautiful feed in the slot with less than 7 minutes to go, but he missed the net.

With 5 minutes to go, Sean Durzi made a move into the zone, but a knee on knee hit/trip/interference call didn’t happen, as Durzi went to the ice. For some reason, referees hate Durzi.

The Kings pressed pretty much the rest of the period, after the no-call, as Byfield hit a post, and Vejmelka was tested with a number of long range, but not too dangerous quality shots.

Hits and shots were the name of the game this period. Utah, uncharacteristically had 12 hits in that period, while the Kings had 15. Shots, however, were flipped as Utah had 15, LA had 12.

SECOND PERIOD:
The Kings seemed to have a great intermission. Coming out of the tunnel, they dominated play against the Mammoth for the first 5-6 minutes. While no plays that developed were truly dangerous, there was a critical spot at the 16 minute mark. Crouse broke his stick, and Utah was hemmed in. A failed clear by Keller kept the pressure on, until a Kings shot attempt resulted in a broken stick as well, allowing Utah the ability to recover.

At exactly 5 minutes in, McBain threw a shot on Kuemper off a rebound from just above the goal line at near side boards. Kuemper made the stop, but lost sight of the puck for just a moment, allowing Hayton to crash and look for the rebound. Pushing ensued, but nothing was called. The physicality, however, was set and would continue to intensify.

Cooley got outmuscled on the puck in the defensive end by Scott Laughton, turning it over for a dangerous chance against. However, Peterka was able to get his stick on a pass to break up a one-timer setup, relieving Cooley of any potential consequences of that play.

It was Crouse’s turn to make a gaffe, having his pass out of the zone denied, and deflected back in to Trevor Moore for a breakaway. Mikhail Sergachev got just enough back to disrupt Moore’s shot, which went wide. Moore would soon have a chance behind the net to put the net in the crease, perhaps with a wraparound in mind, but the puck went through the paint harmlessly.

Utah got their first actual good look almost at the halfway point. Cooley led a 4 on 3 rush into the Kings end, and dropped a pass off for Ian Cole. Cole’s initial shot was blocked, but the puck bounced back to him for a follow up. The angle threw off Kuemper, who wasn’t set, and a big juicy rebound out but LA got the puck out of the zone.

After a rush by Utah that saw Keller crash into the net, Kuemper decided to get a little cozy with the captain. Laying on Keller for about 10 seconds, play resumed ahead of the interference and, once again, no whistles on the play.

With 4 minutes to go, the top line again rushed the zone. A Keller shot on Kuemper was stopped, and the rebound fell to the right of Kuemper. Brian Dumoulin, who just guided Schmaltz away from the net and to the boards, took the puck somewhat lackadaisically. Schmaltz, sensing an opportunity, quickly stuck his stick in to steal the puck, and cut up and around right in on Kuemper. The initial shot hit his pads and somehow he immediately found the rebound and flipped it up in the air. With a beautiful swipe, Schmaltz got full blade of the stick on the puck and he slammed it past Kuemper on the far side of the net. An amazing, insane level of individual effort, and Utah was back up in a period they were otherwise being dominated in. 3-2 Utah

The best thing about the 2026 Mammoth is they’re really great at hol… hey they got through the goal announcement and kept the lead. This is a good sign.

Karel Vejmelka made the best save of the night for Utah, when Laferriere hit Moore on the far side of Vejmelka. Veggie went cross crease, doing the full splits, and just got a fraction of his glove on the puck to preserve the lead.

The game sped up after that, with both teams playing wide open until the horn, but neither team added to their score.

Utah outplayed and outshot that period 10 – 6, but that big late stop by Vejmelka and that astronomically impressive play by Schmaltz were all the difference.

THIRD PERIOD:
The most dangerous animal is one that’s cornered, and a Kings team down a goal, with playoff hopes on the line, made them dangerous. Utah should have expected a massive push from the Kings in the 3rd, and they rose to the challenge for most of the period.

Early on, the referees decided to influence the game again, starting with a call against the Kings. Keller took a boarding play, which was called a cross-check. The power play unit, tested now for the first time today, would attempt to get to work. The top unit had some really good looks to start. Keller got a one-timer off from the near dot, but missed the net. However, the puck came back around to him, and a second shot hit Kuemper and the puck dropped to the ice and was loose in the crease. Schmaltz appeared to get a chip in on goal, but three defending Kings were able to outmaneuver the 2 Utah Mammoth attackers, and the play was cleared. PP2 did nothing other than turn over the puck, and the power play ended without any gains for Utah.

Utah kept LA in check for about 5 more minutes after the power play, pushing play more towards the Kings side of the ice than playing in their own zone. Most plays were at distance and not too dangerous, but the biggest benefit was more utilization of the clock than providing much offense.

About 13 minutes to go, LA had their first big push. Off a face-off win, a shot from the point was tipped by Sergachev and changed directions on Vejmelka. Veggie, however, was able to track and cover it. He took a puck to the mask shortly after, but that was all he’d face for a little bit, as Utah was again able to successfully stifle the Kings offense for several minutes.

Keller got a golden chance from inside the far dot on a rush. Schmaltz fed him, in stride, but the shot in on Kuemper was saved and kicked out to the near boards. Schmaltz was close, but not close enough to get the rebound in time for a dangerous follow up chance. Keller then got a broken pass in at the Kings blue line, skated in to the near dot and… stopped and stood there for about 5 seconds. Eventually, he tried to dump the puck around the back of the net, but it was picked off, and the chance just died on the vine.

McBain got the only breakaway of the game for Utah at the 9 minute mark. However, he wasn’t able to get completely clear of Joel Edmundson. Edmundson pressured McBain just enough that a forehand-backhand-forehand wasn’t possible, and the more direct shot in on Kuemper was swallowed up for a whistle.

With under 10 minutes to play, though, Utah looked to more turtle than anything. They allowed a lot of shots on Vejmelka and gave up a ton of zone time, but were bending more than breaking. They also gave it a few pushes, with Michael Carcone getting in 2 chances on Kuemper with about 8 minutes to go.

The Kings pressure and opportunities were scary, though. Several times, Kings passes to the slot were met with well timed tips that were only kept out by fantastic positioning by Vejmelka. However, the Kings pressure just was too much for Utah, and eventually a tripping penalty was called on Ian Cole late in the period.

A penalty kill against a fairly successful Kings power play was already potentially stressful, but more when you consider that Schmidt was out for the night. With Ian Cole in the box, there were just 4 defensemen left, making defense especially tenuous.

Utah’s penalty kill was eventful, mainly from the scrums that occurred. At one point, Vejmelka had a stuck shoved in his chest while the whistle was blown on a cover. The aggression remained for several seconds, until everyone went to the corner. Veggie nonchalantly tossed the stick about 60 feet out of his way.

The penalty kill was exceptional. Sergachev had several big clears. Kerfoot was aggressive to keep the puck deep in the Kings zone. Passes were broken up, lanes were clogged. That was a playoff level PK.

Until…

The penalty expired. Cole exited the box, as Artemi Panarin skated into Utah’s zone. Schmaltz disrupted Panarin enough to force him wide. Sergachev forced him wider, and helped cause a missed shot attempt. Then, with Sergachev draped on him, Panarin threw a shot on net. I can’t explain how, or why, Vejmelka’s pad wasn’t against the ice. It was lifted about an inch an a half between where the ankle portion of the skate makes a little bridge. I can’t explain how a puck that’s larger than that hole went and found a quantum tunnel through that hole. It did. 3-3 TIED

The last three minutes were basically survival mode for Utah. They didn’t give the Kings much, but they almost gave away the game at the buzzer. Panarin took the puck from his zone with 6 seconds to go. Utah looked like they didn’t expect him to do anything, so they let him skate into the zone, unchallenged, and into the slot. Sergachev reacted, Vejmelka reacted, and by the skin of the pads, the kick save kept the puck out. It would have counted, which is terrifying considering the implications.

Utah outshot 14-12 in the third period, outshot for the game 36 – 33.

OVERTIME:
The Kings controlled the majority of the extra period, winning the first two face-offs. An offside negated one, and the game nearly ended when Laferriere got past a confused Utah defense and got by Vejmelka, but couldn’t beat the iron. Just an inch separated the Kings from that second point.

Kevin Stenlund won the third faceoff of the OT, and the puck ended up being fought over on the far boards. Eventually, Stenlund got control and flipped a back pass to Sergachev, who sent an outlet to Schmaltz to break out with an odd man rush.

On the 2 on 1, Schmaltz called his own number. With a little twitch and a foot lift to tease either pass or shot angle, he got Kuemper to bite. A tiny window opened up 5 hole, and a little window was all Schmaltz needed. 4-3 Utah. Game.

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3 GOALS (THE GOOD):

Top Line So Fine The first line was beyond dominant today. Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Lawson Crouse were 100% of the Mammoth offense. Crouse’s early hatty watch would have been all the more impressive if other lines covered their defensive duties, and if goaltending was about what we should have expected.

The Keller-Schmaltz-Crouse line has been really good for several games now. Schmaltz, in particular, has struggled offensively, but has remained defensively solid. While you want your 1C to be the ultimate playmaker, having a center that can score some, but shut down things on 5v5 and special teams is great. The fact he got the game winner in OT tonight was just icing on the cake.

Great all around game from the trio. They need to remain sharp if Utah wants to continue their WC1 trajectory, and there’s no reason they can’t continue to be the best overall line the Mammoth roll out night after night.

Unstarred The three stars of the game went to Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz, and Jack McBain. The first two make sense, and McBain had a great game as well. However, the best player on the ice for much of the game was John Marino.

Marino was 100% the reason for that opening goal. Marino made at least 6 plays in the first period alone to break up outlet passes, and keep zone pressure up. His pinches were ideal. He was never caught out of position, except for that one goal that Vejmelka gave up where he came out of his net. That’s not something you can plan for as a defenseman, but otherwise Marino was great.

Marino also had to take up extra duties with Nate Schmidt leaving in the third period. Normally around 20 minutes a game, he logged over 23 tonight.

3 blocks, one massive steal, great defensive positioning, smart pinches, and a critically important assist. Can’t ask for more than that from your best defensive defenseman.

Resiliency The Mammoth gave up game tying goals twice in 30ish seconds in the first period. Then they were under siege for the first 8 minutes of the second period. The last 10 minutes were a bend but not break, until the tree snapped from terrible 5-hole coverage. They didn’t panic, though. They were able to regroup and played most of the rest of the game solidly.

In previous games, after a goal against, the team would crack. Tonight, after the first goal came 36 seconds after our first, the team pushed the Kings back with their full chest. They had some issues afterwards, but ultimately did not back down, did not play like Keystone Cops, and overall did just enough to keep the game in control, without falling apart and giving up 2 or 3 more goals and appearing shellshocked doing so.

Aside from that Panarin rush that would haunt my soul if it went in, the team seemed to be at least defensively responsible enough to get the point.

Was it perfect? Hardly. Was it improvement? Definitely. The team needs to know how to handle and overcome that mental adversity if they want to go far in the playoffs, and you know they’d like nothing more than to show the NHL that the Mammoth are a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

3 CHIRPS (THE BAD):

Wilting The Mammoth will go as far in the playoffs as a locked in Karel Vejmelka will take them. Tonight, Vejmelka was locked in for about 35 minutes of the game. That’s simply not good enough.

That first goal against wasn’t a great one to give up. Yes, the Kings were in 3 on 1. However, Sergachev was in an amazing position to defend against both Kings forwards on his side of the ice. It should have let Vejmelka focus solely Laferriere, but he let his glove side be beat with a positioning that seemed a little high. Either way, that’s not solely on him.

Goal 2? 100%. You don’t sweep the puck that way. I know this, and I was nowhere near even being acceptable to a junior high squad. Then getting caught still out of the crease getting back? Two significant oops moments led to another goal.

Goal 3? After a critical penalty kill, late in the game, up 1? A goal from that angle, in that situation? Completely unacceptable.

Two posts are all that stood between a regulation loss and that win. Trevor Moore hit the crossbar right before the Cole penalty, and Laferriere hit the post in OT.

Every time Vejmelka came out to play the puck, my life flashed before my eyes. Three times in the first 20 minutes, Vejmelka playing the puck could have led to a goal against – twice by sending the puck up the boards directly to a Kings player who had an open shot, but fanned on it. The third? Well, look above at Goal 2.

I said in the recap that Vejmelka willed his team to win in front of him and stole games for them multiple times this year. Tonight, his team stole a game for him that he probably wants to forget.

Puberty The “kid” line has been playing, well, like kids. Logan Cooley’s pinch on the first goal against was awful. He left his defensive assignment open, turning a 3 on 2 into a 3 on 1, and nearly guaranteed goal. Cooley also has struggled to do anything of note on the power play, though his placement on PP2 can make it a little tough.

JJ Peterka is also struggling on this line lately. Since the break, Peterka has 2 goals on 5v5 play.

The Kid line as a whole has a bad expected goal-for differential, and a negative even strength goal for percentage. Peterka’s at a near team low at 33% goals for since the break. The only player worse, unsurprisingly, is Barrett Hayton.

The line isn’t gelling for some reason. They’ve played great at points, and have made terrible mistakes at others. They’ve got speed and skill, but get out-muscled on the boards and in front of the net.

Peterka adding 20 pounds of muscle will be huge in the next couple of years. Guenther’s already nearly there, and Cooley’s about a year away from being the size he needs to drive that line physically as well as skillfully.

But for now, this line is really disappointing. I hate to suggest it needs to be disassembled, but it may be worth getting things mixed around here.

Knots The Mammoth held the lead for a grand total of 1:04 in the first period. That number came after 2 different leads. Blowing leads that quickly after getting an emotionally charged goal? That’s a massive concern going into the playoffs, if the maturity and ability to weather a pushback isn’t addressed.

Goal 2 was a massive failure point in the pipes, so the team isn’t completely at fault for that second lead issue, but at the end of the day it IS a team game, so any blunders by one is a blunder shared by all.

The Mammoth letting in that late goal in the third felt inevitable to me from the 10 minute mark. That near buzzer beater by Panarin really should have been a wake-up call for the team. No such thing as taking a shift off.

Thankfully and luckily, 2 points were the outcome, but if this game happened to go 5 minutes longer, would you be confident the team could hold that lead again?

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Next up:

Tuesday night at the Delta Center, McDavid and company come for the first time this year. Game time 7:30 local, broadcast on (yuck) ESPN.

Tusks Up!