3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 4-3 OT Win Over Avalanche

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It’s a sweep for the Utah Mammoth. Despite going up against a Stanley Cup favorite in the Colorado Avalanche, the Mammoth stayed resilient and put together a good hockey game, which resulted in a 4-3 overtime win. It was the fourth straight win at the Delta Center for the team, which completes a sweep of the homestand.

It was a fantastic game for most of the players on the Mammoth. From the blue line to the offense to the goaltending, it was a big win all around. Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s game.

Mikhail Sergachev’s First Points of the Season

Despite not having any points until Tuesday’s game, Mikhail Sergachev has been a massive part of the Mammoth’s recent success. His defensive play has been just as good as it was last season. He’s made some clutch plays, including in the team’s last game against the Boston Bruins, that have won games for his team.

It was about time that some points started to come his way. Tuesday marked that time. His name first appeared on the scoresheet on the Mammoth’s first goal. The Russian defenseman made a nice pass to Clayton Keller, who shot the puck at the net. Nick Schmaltz tapped in the rebound for his eighth point in the past four games. Sergachev ended up getting the secondary assist on the goal.

In the third period, it was a fluke goal that gave Sergachev his first goal of the season. Artturi Lehkonen received the puck from Scott Wedgewood on the boards. Thinking no one was behind him, he passed the puck behind him right to an awaiting Sergachev. The defenseman then lightly shot the puck, which glanced off Josh Manson and went behind Wedgewood.

Sergachev also ended up getting an assist on the overtime winner from Dylan Guenther. That point made it a three-point night for the defenseman.

Sergachev is a player who is very critical and hard on himself and his team. He’s a brutally honest player. Six games without a point might not seem horrible, especially for a defenseman, but for Sergachev, it was disappointing, which made it feel a thousand times better to score on Tuesday.

“Six games without a point kind of feels like nothing in terms of time, but to me, it felt like forever,” Sergachev said. “Every day coming to the rink knowing that you’re zero. I didn’t play badly. I had some chances, but it takes a toll, mentally too. It was nice to get a goal.”

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Sergachev is actually the first defenseman to score a goal for the Mammoth this season. To be fair, the season just started, and of course, you want to see your defensemen score. However, it does speak to how good the Mammoth’s front net presence has been with finding rebounds or tipping in shots.

“I think because we have a D that can put pucks at the net, we improved a lot in the last couple of games,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Sometimes the puck goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. At some point, it will hit the pads, and it will go in, and the floodgate will be open. I’m happy for Sergey (Sergachev). I think he played a solid game.”

Getting the first goal and the point of the season was big for Sergachev. Once again, he made a big impact in the game. Something he’s been keen on doing ever since arriving in Utah. 

Make it a Dozen for Dylan Guenther

It feels like every game, Guenther ends up being a massive takeaway due to always coming in and scoring at the best time. Yet again, that happened on Tuesday.

After Martin Nečas scored with an unreal shot with 2:16 remaining in the third period, the Mammoth and the Avalanche went into overtime. The Mammoth took control of the puck and skated into their own zone. That’s when they used their most useful tool: their speed.

Both Guenther and Keller were able to get ahead of Nečas in the neutral zone and race towards Wedgewood with only one defender ahead of them. Keller slid the puck over to Guenther, who was still outpacing Nečas and banged it home, winning the game in overtime for the Mammoth.

The game-winning goal was Guenther’s 12th game-winning goal since the beginning of last season. It is the second most in the NHL during that time span, only behind Mark Scheifele, who has 13. Also of note, five of those goals have been in overtime.

Similar to Sergachev, Guenther can also be hard on himself and his play. He actually didn’t like his play throughout the game. Yet, he stepped up when it mattered, and it paid off for the Mammoth.

“I said it before, those little moments you want to play in,” Guenther said. “I didn’t think I played well throughout the whole game, just kind of fighting it all game. Just that next shift mentality. What can I do on the next shift to help this team? I think it’s just continuous repetition on that.”

Perfection at the Delta Center

The Mammoth have now ripped off four straight wins, all at the Delta Center. They now sit third in the Central Division with a 5-2-0 record.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Karel Vejmelka’s excellent performance in net on Tuesday. His first period was one of the best performances he’s ever had. In back-to-back moments, he robbed the Avalanche of a goal, including on a breakaway from Nathan MacKinnon.

Vejmelka ended up making 30 saves on 33 shots. Quite impressive considering the Avalanche are one of the best teams in the league.

“I think the key moment was when we had our bumps, when the boat was rocking, a little veggie (Vejmelka) came up big,” Tourigny said. “He made key saves at key moments.”

Karel Vejmelka Utah Mammoth
Karel Vejmelka, Utah Mammoth (Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)

As mentioned, the top line was once again working its magic. It wasn’t just the big players scoring during the game, though. Lawson Crouse got his first of the season on Tuesday, which gives the bottom six their fifth goal of the season. Hopefully, that will spark players like Crouse to continue racking up points, though they’ve been quite good on this homestand.

Speaking of the bottom six, Jack McBain was injured during the game. After a collision on the boards twisted up his leg, he fell hard on the ice, hitting his head. He was listed as questionable to return towards the end of the game with an upper-body injury. Tourigny did not have any updates on him postgame.

Both times this season when the Avalanche and the Mammoth have faced off against each other, it’s been a single-goal game. It shows that the Mammoth can play against teams like the Avalanche, who are Stanley Cup favorites this season. They can compete with guys like MacKinnon and Cale Makar and shut them down as well.

Every time the two teams face off, it’s a great comparison for the Mammoth. While winning against them needs to happen more frequently, getting a win and keeping the other game within a goal is pretty good for a young and building team like the Mammoth.

“It’s a measuring stick for us,” Sergachev said. “They’re one of the best teams in the league. They’re showing it every year. They’re consistent. Their best players are consistent. We want to be that, and we want to grow into that. Obviously, it’s nice to get a win, but it’s got to be on a consistent basis.”

At the end of the day, capping off a sweep of a four-game homestand with a win against the Avalanche is nothing short of a great performance. They are still one of two teams without a regulation loss. That’s not a fluke either.

The Mammoth continue to improve and adapt. Each game that passes by, they look better. The proof is in the pudding. When you consider the tough upcoming games the Mammoth have, the improvements have come at the right time, and Tourigny couldn’t be any happier.

“That’s a hell of a team on the other side,” Tourigny said. “I think the most important thing for me is the way we progress during the game, the way we adapt, the way we react to the way they wanted to attack us, and the read that our guys did, and all of it. I’m really proud of them, for them.”

It’s a fantastic win for the Mammoth, complete with a goal that fans will remember for a long time. Four wins in four games, all in front of the home crowd. You couldn’t ask for anything better.

The Mammoth will travel to Missouri to play the St Louis Blues. The Blues are 3-2-1 this season and are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to the LA Kings. The two teams played each other four times last season, which resulted in each team winning twice. The Mammoth lost the most recent outing in April by a score of 6-1.

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