Fresh off nearly a week’s break, the Utah Mammoth returned to action one more time in 2025 to face the Nashville Predators. Monday’s game also served as the final game at the Delta Center before a three-game road trip against the three New York metropolitan teams. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to get a win against a bottom-of-the-standings team like the Predators.
It seemed at points throughout the game that the Mammoth would indeed end the year on a high note. However, the Predators kept lurking around and kept within a goal’s distance of their opponents. The Mammoth couldn’t finish them, and the Predators capitalized, winning the game in the third period. They are once again below .500. Here are some takeaways from Monday’s 4-3 loss.
Dylan Guenther, Mikhail Sergachev Capitalize on a Thriving Offense
The Mammoth dominated the Predators offensively on Monday. There’s no doubt about it. Even just looking at the number of shots in each period, the Mammoth outshot the Predators in two of the three periods.
Taking a closer look, the Mammoth had more scoring chances and high danger opportunities. They were more active right in front of the net, getting chances on tips and rebounds. It took less than six minutes for the Mammoth to capitalize on that. Even better, it was done on the power play.
“We doubled them in scoring chances, so we did a lot of good,” head coach André Tourigny said. “I think it would be nitpicking if I go and say ‘a little bit more of this, a little bit more of that.’ At the end of the day, I guess we doubled them at five-on-five and special teams.”
Dylan Guenther received the puck on the side of the net and danced to the front of the net with it. He then quickly passed it to JJ Peterka, who quickly shot it into the empty net. The goal gave the Mammoth their first of three leads in the game.
Peterka on the power play! 🔥
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 30, 2025
1-0, Mammoth. pic.twitter.com/XZ4HC2DOeU
Roman Josi responded with a goal of his own halfway through the first period to tie the game. However, the Mammoth kept pushing, outshooting the Predators 11-7 in the first 20. The momentum led to a Nick Schmaltz pass to Mikhail Sergachev, who shot the puck into the net from the blueline.
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While it was tied leading into the third period, it felt like the Mammoth had all the momentum. They were outshooting the Predators, they had the better opportunities, and the team was really feeling themselves.
“I think we outplayed them, and we had our chances,” Guenther said. “I know we had a few days off or whatever, but I feel like there’s not that much time to waste. Every game is important, so (we need to) make sure that we’re bearing down.”
Sometimes the better team doesn’t win the hockey game. Guenther and the Mammoth have every right in the world to feel like they outplayed their opponents. However, in the third period, the Predators taught the Mammoth to stop playing with the lead.
Mr. Clutch Does it Again…Or So You Thought
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Guenther comes up clutch with an impressive goal to win the game for the Mammoth. Well, it seemed like that’s exactly what was going to happen four minutes into the third period. Lawson Crouse fed him a great pass, and Guenther tucked the puck into the empty net on his backhand to once again give the Mammoth the lead in the game.
As clutch as they come 🔥
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 30, 2025
Gunner tallies his team-leading 17th of the season! pic.twitter.com/ZiO7qgFVUu
“I think he (Guenther) played a complete game,” Tourigny said. “He played a game the way we know he’s capable of. He played against the top line all night long and did a really good job five-on-five. He scored a big goal, made points. (I) think he’s playing really good hockey.”
Unfortunately for the Mammoth, Mr. Clutch can’t always carry the team to a win. On Monday, a goal from Guenther that seemed like it would win the game for his team didn’t.
That’s because a rejuvenated Steven Stamkos decided to be the clutch player of the game. On a power play, a little over halfway through the game, Vítek Vaněček stopped back-to-back Stamkos opportunities but couldn’t stop a third one as the former Tampa Bay Lightning captain ripped one home from in front of the net to tie the game.
Two minutes later, Ryan O’Reilly won a battle for the puck against Sean Durzi in the corner and found Stamkos once again in prime position. The forward put it behind Vaněček for his 599th career goal and for a 4-3 Predators lead, the team’s first of the game.
That ended up being the final score of the game. Despite having the lead three separate times, outshooting their opponents, and Vaněček playing a solid game, the Mammoth lost to the Predators, who, in turn, have caught up to them in the standings.
“I thought we played better for most of the game,” Sergachev said. “We were sloppy on the PK, and the last goal there cost us the game, I think. We’ve got to be more focused in those crucial moments in the game.”
The biggest problem for the Mammoth during the game was finding a way to keep the lead and build on it. While it seemed like they had the momentum in their favor after scoring, they wound up finding a way to lose the lead minutes later. The Predators stayed on their trail after every goal, and they ended up being the team to find a way to protect their one lead they had all game.
It didn’t help that the special teams were mediocre for the Mammoth. Their power play, which has spent most of the season at the bottom of the league, once again was a mixed bag. They scored on their first attempt but couldn’t score on a fantastic five-on-three opportunity. That, in particular, has been a common occurrence recently.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the penalty kill. There’s one area where the Mammoth have been successful in, and that’s killing penalties. They did well killing off the first Predators’ power play. However, the second one directly resulted in Stamkos’ first goal. Vaněček can only do so much before he can’t save another puck. Stopping two Stamkos shots in a row is great, but he needs the defense in front of him to help prevent a third one, and they weren’t there during that opportunity.
“Our one mistake, a big mistake on the PK there, the broken stick was four-on-four, Tourigny said. “We should have been more aggressive, and we gave an opportunity for them to have a clean look from the slot, so that’s unfortunate. Other than that, five-on-five, I think we did a really good job defensively, but we need to find a way in key situations and key moments and when push comes to shove, to be better.”
This loss feels even worse because of how many leads the Mammoth had. Mistakes added up and cost the team all three of them they had. The win was so close, especially after Guenther’s late goal. However, the Mammoth let it slip through their fingers thanks to poor defense and overconfidence.
“We were in the fight,” Sergachev said. “I feel like we got down on ourselves because we gave up a goal. We were up, and we thought we were going to win. Just got a little too high and didn’t defend twice there, and the puck (got) in the back of the net.”
Time to Find a New Year’s Resolution
A New Year’s resolution is always a nice thing to have. It gives you a goal for the next year and a way to improve and better yourself. For the Mammoth, their resolution needs to be to try to find their winning ways from October again, or at the very least, something close to that.
It’s hard to tell at this point if that long winning streak at the beginning of the season was the best the Mammoth can be or just a fluke. It’s now been two whole months since then, and the result has been inconsistency coupled with multiple embarrassing and heartbreaking losses, including Monday’s loss.
Rest can no longer be considered an excuse if it was before. The Mammoth just had one of the longest Christmas breaks in the NHL. They also came out of it with a home game against one of the bottom four teams in their division.
The Mammoth have said they know what the mistake is. Sergachev reemphasized that after the loss.
“As they say, you have to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them,” Sergachev said. “That’s what we’ve got to do. We know what the problem is. We just have to work through it. There’s gonna be some lapses and stuff, but we gotta get into it and play much better there in the crucial last 10 minutes of the game.”
However, we’ve heard a similar saying from multiple players before. It’s great that the Mammoth know what their issues are. When are they actually going to be fixed permanently? It seems like it’s been one issue after another, and the Mammoth now find themselves in the same spot they were in a couple of weeks ago.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but there’s only so long the team can idle before they find themselves even more out of a playoff spot. The San Jose Sharks have two games in hand with the same number of points as the Mammoth. The Predators and the Seattle Kraken have come back from the dead and are one point back of the Mammoth with games in hand.
Sure, there are still 42 games remaining in the Mammoth’s schedule, but they don’t want to be chasing their opponents down for a playoff spot come March, where there’s even more pressure on them, or worse, being so far out of it that the season is essentially over come spring.
Game 40 should’ve been a game that the Mammoth won. It could be a game they look back at in April and kick themselves for. Despite leading 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2, it was the hungrier team that got the valuable two points to round out 2025 for the Mammoth.
“A tough, tough result,” Tourigny said. “Frustrating.”
The Mammoth will head to New York next for a three-game road trip. They’ll first play the New York Islanders on Thursday. The Islanders are 21-14-4 this season and are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. They’ll play the Chicago Blackhawks before Thursday’s game. The two teams last met in November, where the Mammoth lost 3-2.
