On Thursday night, the Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights met up for the first contest of a three-game season series.
This was the first of four straight games at home for the Mammoth as they looked to steady the ship after losing eight of their last 10, while the Golden Knights were looking to do the same to kick off a three-game road trip after dropping five of their previous seven games.
Game Recap
Despite a handful of quality scoring chances early in this game, the scoring did not kick off until after the first intermission.
To open the second period, Jack Eichel scored on a rebound, snapping a nine-game goalless drought. The goal came at four-on-four just over three minutes into the second frame, after Logan Cooley and Brett Howden took offsetting minor penalties.
The Golden Knights then extended the lead to two almost immediately on a goal from Ben Hutton 28 seconds later, as he beat Karel Vejmelka on a shot that squeaked under his arm.
Again at four-on-four three minutes later, nearing the midway point of the game, the Mammoth clawed back within one, after Ian Cole undressed Shea Theodore before finding Nate Schmidt on the far side of the ice, who beat Akira Schmid, sneaking his own shot under the goalie’s arm.
To close out the second period, Jack Eichel broke loose on a breakaway and scored his second goal of the game and his 10th of the season. The play was created by Theodore recovering a loose puck in the defensive zone and making an outlet pass to Braeden Bowman, who then sprung Eichel for the goal, which gave the Golden Knights a 3-1 lead going into the final frame.
After a dominant second period, the Golden Knights kept up the pressure in the third, with Eichel returning the favor to Bowman, feeding him a tap-in on the doorstep after circling the net 45 seconds into the third.
This goal allowed the Golden Knights to cruise to a 4-1 victory, earning their first set of back-to-back wins in a month. The loss is the Mammoth’s fourth straight, but only their first regulation loss during this losing streak.
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, with the Mammoth facing the New York Rangers and the Golden Knights facing the Anaheim Ducks. These two will meet again on Monday for the second game of their season series.
