3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 3-2 OT Win Over Rangers

It was a hard-hitting, physical, gritty game, but the Utah Mammoth pulled off a big win under the brightest lights in the United States in Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. As mentioned, it was no easy game. The Rangers gave the Mammoth everything they could, and it took overtime for them to put the game away.

With the win, the Mammoth have started 2026 with a 2-1-0 record and now go into their seven-game homestand on a good note. Here are some takeaways from Monday’s game.

Battling Through the Physicality and Penalties

Right off the bat, you got the vibe that Monday’s game would be a physical one. When JJ Peterka and Barrett Hayton crashed the net early, it sparked a scrum between the two teams that wouldn’t be the last. Kevin Stenlund was decked by Matt Rempe in the neutral zone a couple of minutes later, and once again, the two teams went at it.

The physicality peaked when Peterka crashed the net a second time. He didn’t really hit Igor Shesterkin too hard, but the goaltender went down, grabbing one of his legs. Shesterkin went to the dressing room with help from his teammates, forcing Jonathan Quick into the game.

It didn’t stop there. Daniil But decided to show a physical presence as well. He and Rempe were shoving each other all game. But even ran into Quick after getting a good chance to score himself. Quick and the Rangers went after the rookie, and the entire Mammoth line went after the Rangers to defend their player.

Speaking of But, he had a solid game for the Mammoth. Sure, his offense hasn’t been fantastic since his call-up from Tucson, but he’s had some really good games, including on Monday. He had a couple of good chances to score and drove the play well. He also battled hard against the boards and worked hard defensively to retrieve the puck. But showed a great deal of maturity, and head coach André  Tourigny liked what he saw from the young forward.

“I really like his game today in a lot of aspects,” Tourigny said. “He got hit. They went after him. Did not intimidate him at all. He kept going into the net. He kept cutting in the net. He had a great chance. He made great plays throughout the game, along the wall with the puck, and without the puck. I really liked his game tonight.”

It wasn’t just the coach who liked what they saw from But. The entire team kept an eye on the rookie and his relentless play. Michael Carcone was impressed, especially given But’s age.

“He’s, I don’t even know, 19, 20, 21, it’s pretty impressive,” said Carcone. “Everyone knows who he (Rempe) is and what he brings to their team. So for him to get in there and battle, it’s awesome.”

The scoring didn’t start the way the Mammoth wanted it to. After a good first period where the Mammoth had most of the scoring opportunities, the Rangers came out swinging in the second, which culminated in an Alexis Lafrenière tap-in goal on the power play to make it 1-0 Rangers.

Dylan Guenther capitalized on his own rebound to tie the game, but the Mammoth once again ran into penalty issues, with Alex Kerfoot and Brandon Tanev both going to the box at the same time to give the Rangers a five-on-three power play. It resulted in Vincent Trocheck tipping in Artemi Panarin’s puck to make the score 2-1.

The Mammoth needed a big third period. It started decently with a power play opportunity. While it didn’t lead to a goal, the team started to find some momentum. It paid off when Michael Carcone drove to the front of the net with Urho Vaakanainen on his back and put the puck past Quick to tie the game.

????️ Michael Carcone!

2-2 in New York City. pic.twitter.com/20WWvlAxf2

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 6, 2026

Despite the period not featuring a lot of shots on goal, the Mammoth still outshot the Rangers. It was a great return to form, especially after a middling second period. 

“The first period was excellent,” Tourigny said. “A lot of pace. Second period, we got in a little bit of box trouble there, but still, we were not playing bad, but we’re not playing with the same pace that we did in the first period. The same pressure, the same aggression, and when we got back at it in the third, right from the first shift, the guys were on it.”

Throughout the three periods, the Mammoth battled to keep up with the Rangers on the scoreboard, physically, etc. As mentioned, the Rangers gave their opponents everything they could muster. The Mammoth really wanted the win, and it showed on Monday.

“Sometimes we’re playing hockey, and we’re not grabbing a game and taking it,” Sean Durzi said. “I thought tonight we did a good job of being aggressive and taking what they gave us, but doing it with intensity. I thought that’s important for us was how can we build momentum from that?”

Sean Durzi Scores An Emotional Overtime Winner

It’s been a rough year personally for the Mammoth. Earlier this season, Clayton Keller’s dad unexpectedly passed away. On Monday, Durzi announced that his grandfather passed away a couple of weeks ago.

Durzi’s grandfather went to all of his games. You could tell postgame that it has been a tough couple of weeks for the defenseman.

It didn’t make it any better when he took a hooking penalty near the end of the third period. Durzi was not a big fan of that call, and neither was most of his team. It could’ve given the Rangers the win if they scored on the power play.

The Mammoth ended up killing off the penalty and sending the game to overtime. In the extra period, the team entered the zone and passed the puck around. Eventually, Lawson Crouse slid the puck to Nick Schmaltz. Schmaltz shot it at the net, and Durzi glided it in for the game-winner. It’s the second straight game the Mammoth have won in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

The game winning goal from up above. #TusksUp https://t.co/9vMS6oMwje pic.twitter.com/nGt9WC8ONI

— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) January 6, 2026

It was revealed postgame that Durzi had some luck from above. He ended up saying a prayer in the penalty box to his grandfather. A couple of minutes later, he found himself with the game-winning goal.

“I said a little prayer in the penalty box, hoping he had heard, and then to get that OT winner for him,” Durzi said. “He was an important guy in my life, so it was nice to get that one for him.”

You could tell that was a special one for the defenseman from the emotions pouring out from him after he scored and during his press conference. After the criticisms he’s faced for his defensive game and going through his grandfather’s passing, it all came out on Monday night.

Durzi is a big team player. In New Jersey, he told reporters that the only way to be consistent is by working together as a team and doing things right as a team. He’s a guy who is honest with the team’s play and wants to do anything to help his team. 

“He (Durzi) has that passion, that grit, that desire to excel,” Tourigny said. “You don’t always see that from the outside. When you’re on the inside, you’re in the trenches with these guys. He has no retreat in him. He’s always going forward, so I like that about him a lot.” 

It was a big goal for one of the most important players inside the Mammoth’s locker room. After everything he went through, there was no one more deserving than Durzi to get that game-winning goal.

Heading Home for the Long Haul

With that win, the Mammoth’s three-game road trip in the New York metropolitan area to kick off 2026 is over. They end the trip with a 2-1-0 record and are back with a .500 record.

Now, they head back to Utah for the long haul. They’ll play the next seven games at the Delta Center, which is their longest stretch of home games this season.

Ask anyone on the team, they are sick of being on the road. The Mammoth have played the most road games in the NHL, beating (coincidentally) the Rangers by one. The team is ready to play in front of their fans again, and they’re excited to be back in Utah, especially after getting the win on Monday and getting four big points on the road.

“We expect good things for us in the second half, and that trip is important, because you can go back home 1-2-0 or you can go back 2-1-0, and that is the huge difference,” Tourigny said. “Now we’re playing 10 of the next 14 at home. We’re by far the team that has played the most games on the road in the league. Now we have an opportunity to balance everything out and to prove who we want to be.”

Yes, being back home will make life a lot easier and cozier, but this could be the biggest stretch of games in the Mammoth’s season. Even though the team got a big win on Monday, consistency has been an issue. I’ve said it numerous times in the past couple of weeks. You can even look at the three games on this trip and see that the Mammoth can’t currently keep consistently doing things right.

Seven games at home is nice, but the Mammoth need to win at least five of those games to really break out of the consistency stigma that surrounds their team. Every single player on the team needs to work to win. As the Olympic break is now a month away, it’s crunch time for the Mammoth as they seek to go into the multi-week break in a playoff spot.

“When we’re going four lines all 60, we’re a tough team to beat, and I think that confidence is something that we have to bring night in and night out,” Durzi said. “When we’re not working, it’s not going to come easy for us. We got to work, and we got to be on the same page with intensity and grabbing games and taking games, not just playing.”

Durzi is 100% right with his statement. The Mammoth need to start winning some of these games convincingly, as well as they did with their 7-2 win over the New York Islanders a couple of days ago. They’ve been in quite a few one-goal games as of late, and a lot of them have not gone their way.

The Mammoth know what they have to do going into Wednesday’s game. It won’t be easy, but winning most of these games and improving their home and overall record is something they must do to regain confidence, consistency, and get into a playoff spot and own that spot. That was their goal going into this season.

For now, as they head back west, the Mammoth can reflect on the New York road trip and feel like they mostly took care of business. Two pretty good wins sandwiched an ugly loss, but they did get four of six points and remain two points out of the second wild card spot. A lot of players showed up in key moments, and there’s momentum going into a big homestand. Not a bad week in the Empire State.

“We knew this trip was gonna be important,” Carcone said. “We obviously see the standings and where we are. To get two wins on this trip and get home, it’s gonna be great.”

The Mammoth will start their seven-game homestand against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. The Senators are 20-16-5 and are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. These two teams last met in November, when the Mammoth lost 4-2.