3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 3-1 Win Over Senators

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There was a lot of momentum going into Wednesday’s game for the Utah Mammoth. The team was going into a seven-game homestand after winning in overtime against the New York Rangers, thanks to a Sean Durzi goal, which he scored weeks after his grandpa died. Not to mention the Mammoth went 2-1-0 in the trip overall. Oh, and it was announced that they would be hosting the Winter Classic right before the game. 

So, there were a lot of positives for the Mammoth going into Wednesday’s game. Unlike prior games, the team rode the momentum and beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1. A hot start by the Mammoth and a big goal by a rookie helped them win their second straight game. Here are some takeaways from Wednesday’s game.

A Great Start

Like the entire team, first periods in games have been inconsistent for the Mammoth. In the past three games, they’ve had a bad start against the New York Islanders but managed to win the game, a good start against the New Jersey Devils but ended up losing the game, and a good start against the Rangers that ended with an overtime win. Was the pattern going to continue on Wednesday? The answer ended up being…no.

Nearly four minutes into the game, Clayton Keller passed the puck to himself off the boards and skated behind the net. Initially, what looked like a wrap-around attempt, he instead passed the puck to Lawson Crouse on his backhand, who shot it into a wide-open net to make it 1-0 Mammoth.

We have to talk about Crouse for a second. He’s returned to his normal production after a God-awful 2024-25 season. After only producing 18 points in 81 games, he’s already beaten that number with this season’s totals. Crouse has 20 points in 44 games and is two goals away from tying his 12 goals from last season.

A couple of minutes after Crouse’s goal, the Mammoth struck again. The puck got to the blueline, where Keller was waiting. It’s unclear if Keller intended to do so (if it was, it wouldn’t be surprising at all), but he ended up taking a shot that bounced off the boards and right to John Marino, who capitalized immediately to make it 2-0.

Talk about another guy who has rebounded after a disastrous season. Marino didn’t play most of the 2024-25 season due to injury. This season, he has 19 points in 44 games. That means he’s on pace to beat his career-high 26-point campaign from the 2019-20 season. With three goals, he might also beat his career-high in goals from the same season (6).

“We wouldn’t be here without our defense, and they contribute all over the ice, defensively and offensively,” Crouse said. “It’s great to see Johnny (Marino) get one. He’s obviously a great guy and really good with the puck, and makes some solid plays. It’s nice to see him get rewarded.”

Related: Utah Mammoth’s Top 15 Prospects Midway Through the 2025-26 Season

Ridly Greig scored late in the first period, but by then, the Mammoth had already won the period. Despite the Senators outshooting them, the Mammoth locked it down defensively. After scoring twice out of the gate, all they needed to do was play with the lead, which is something they’ve struggled to do in the past. On Wednesday, they did what they needed to do.

“We got those first two goals early, and we had a big push there in the first,” Marino said. “They played well, and they outworked us at times, probably overall in the whole game, but we snuck away with that one. I think the way we were able to sustain pressure, at least, and just limit their grade A chances.”

Cheeks With the Insurance Goal

As mentioned, the Senators started pushing hard late in the first period and continued to do so in the next two periods. They ended the second period outshooting the Mammoth 14-5. In the third, they once again outshot their opponents, this time 12-7. Yet, it was the Mammoth who scored in the middle frame, and it was thanks to the rookie.

With momentum on the Senators’ side, the Mammoth needed to get the puck to the net, and that’s what they did. Brandon Tanev tried a wrap-around shot, but Leevi Meriläinen stopped it. However, what Tanev did was get the puck to the net. The Mammoth quickly swarmed it, swatting and batting the puck at Meriläinen.

The Mammoth dug and dug until finally the puck trickled past the Senators’ goaltender. At first, it looked like Tanev had his first with the Mammoth. The Senators challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal stood, and the score remained 3-1. It was after the review that it was determined Daniil But was the last one to touch the puck; therefore, he ended up scoring the second goal of his NHL career.

How good has But been recently? While critics will call the forward out for not producing a lot of points, his two-way play has been the best we’ve seen from him. He’s gotten pucks to the net but has also done a good job at protecting the puck and embracing the physicality of the game. The best thing he’s done recently? Not being afraid to go to the front of the net and battle to put the puck in the net. That’s how he scored his goal on Wednesday.

“He understands the game,” head coach André Tourigny said. “He understands when it’s time to pass, when it’s time to shoot, when it’s time to block the shot, when it’s time to make a play on the breakout, and when it’s time to cut at the net. He has a good IQ in that sense.”

Four points in 17 games isn’t great, and But needs to produce more in the future. However, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther weren’t the best in their rookie seasons, and they turned out just fine. Not everyone is going to be a Rocket Richard candidate in their first NHL season, and that’s ok as long as they show signs of development somewhere.

Daniil But Utah Mammoth
Daniil But, Utah Mammoth (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)

But is only 20 years old and has only played 36 pro games in North America. The production will come. He’s shown flashes of it. But just needs to learn to finish his chances off, and the points will come. It showed on Wednesday with his effort in the crease battle to get the third goal.

He’s got a lot of chances, and I think he had a few more tonight that probably could have gone in, and it’s just weird, that’s the one that goes in,” Crouse said. “But credit to that line, they go to the net hard. It’s nice to see them get rewarded.”

Speaking of development, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mammoth choose to send But down to the American Hockey League (AHL) during the Olympic break. The AHL will continue to operate while the NHL pauses. Sending him down to play games in the AHL instead of sitting around will continue his development. It’s something that they did with Josh Doan in the past, and look how he has turned out.

Keep Rollin’

Despite getting outshot 33-21 and the Senators playing better in the final two periods, the Mammoth held on to win 3-1. It marked their second straight win and their third win in the past four games. Not bad for a team that has really struggled in the past two months.

The Senators might’ve had the better overall game, but that’s not saying the Mammoth didn’t work hard. They certainly did. The team played well in front of the net and did a good job at being physical. The Mammoth’s penalty kill also came up huge once again, killing off all three power play opportunities the Senators had.

“They (Senators) play hard, tough to play against, and I give them a lot of credit. We played very hard, especially at the end of the game. Even when we took the lead early on, there was a little bit of an adjustment for us in the third. I really think when the game is on the line, when push comes to shove, we really raise our game. We raised our urgency, were really stingy, and we had composure. So, I like the way we closed out the game. When it was 2-1, there was no panic, no stress in our game, just urgency and focus.”

Someone who I haven’t mentioned yet who had a really good game was Tanev. The veteran forward has had a rough go recently, being a healthy scratch for the majority of the games in the past couple of weeks. In his second game back in the lineup, he made a big impact.

While Tanev didn’t score due to the Mammoth’s third goal being credited to But, he laid the body quite a bit. Maybe more importantly, he blocked three shots. Two of which hit his ankle-skate area, with the first one sending him to the locker room. Tanev was a critical part of the Mammoth’s win on Wednesday, and he deserves some credit.

“He (Tanev) played good,” Tourigny said. “I think he had a really positive influence and a really positive attitude.”

With that, the Mammoth get a big win and a big two points. They did it all in front of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, too. They are now back over .500 and are one point back of the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Maybe best of all, they’ve started their seven-game homestand with a win, immediately sending a good vibe to the team and the fanbase.

Going forward, it’s about (say it with me, folks) consistency. The Mammoth still haven’t won three games in a row since October. Starting their pattern of winning, then losing, then winning again, with some back-to-back wins thrown in there, is not going to cut it. The Mammoth need to keep rollin’. They need to win multiple games in a row, not just one or two. Once they start figuring out how to do that again, they should get back to a higher point in the standings.

The on-ice play needs to stay consistent, too. It’s ok to steal some games here and there, but the Mammoth cannot play as they did on Wednesday every game. Don’t believe me? Look back to last month, when the Mammoth squeaked out a win against the Vancouver Canucks that they shouldn’t have gotten. They proceeded to play a similar game against the Calgary Flames and lost 2-0.

With that said, a win is a win, and the Mammoth will take it for at least today. Perhaps the biggest story is that despite the Senators hurling everything they could at the Mammoth, they stood strong and maintained the lead, which is something that has been an issue in the past. Wednesday’s game showed that the team learned from them.

“There were ups and downs throughout the game, just like there’s gonna be in any game, but we found a way to close it out and get a big point,” Crouse said.

The Mammoth will face the St. Louis Blues next on Friday. The Blues are 18-21-4 and are coming off a 7-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. These two teams have faced each other twice this season, with the season series tied at one a piece. Most recently, the Mammoth lost in late November by a score of 1-0.

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