Mistakes cost Mammoth late in double OT loss to Vegas Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS – The Utah Mammoth will play with their backs against the wall as they face elimination on Friday night after dropping Game 5 to the Vegas Golden Knights in double overtime.

Despite a rollercoaster of events and another one goal lead in the third period, Utah lacked the maturity and experience to push across the finish line.

How did the Mammoth and Golden Knights reach double OT?

Amidst an electric hockey game that required five periods to decide a winner, Wednesday’s night matchup perfectly illustrated how evenly matched this series has been.

Following an overtime victory by the Knights in Game 4, the two squads could barely be separated in Game 5 as they experienced multiple lead changes, massive momentum swings, numerous penalties and an eventual 6-on-5 goal by Vegas with less than 60 seconds remaining to force OT.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately for the Mammoth, the only reason the game even required overtime was because of their inability to protect another late lead.

Just as they had done in Game 4, the Mammoth sat back during a critical stretch which opened the door for Vegas to tie things up after sending Carter Hart to the bench for an extra attacker.

Rather than burying one in the open net to secure the victory, Utah failed to clear the zone and the Knights eventually wore them down to stay alive.

“They’re a great team,” Lawson Crouse said. “It’s playoff hockey.”

“There’s a lot of energy out there. There’s a lot of highs. There’s a lot of lows. They’re a great team. They’re playing really good hockey…they’re still some things we can improve on. We’ll go over that and get back to it.”

What happened to Utah in double overtime?

To be fair, Utah offered an admirable effort through the majority of both overtime periods.

In addition to pushing Vegas for 85 minutes of hockey, the Mammoth generated a collection of dangerous scoring chances, won the battle in the face-off circle (50.6 percent) and delivered more hits than their opponent (44-42) for the second straight game.

Similar to the way they lost Game 4, Utah simply got trapped in their own zone, ran out of gas, turned the puck over, failed to make the extra effort and surrendered the OT winner despite having a man advantage.

That goal simply comes down to effort and desire.

While four Mammoth players stepped to the corner in an attempt to play the puck, Brett Howden simply wanted it more as he won the battle and then sniped Vejmelka to call game.

“You learn things throughout the series,” Crouse explained. “You’ve got to be able to adjust. You’ve got to be able to change.”

“We’re excited for the next game.”

As Crouse pointed out, teams are constantly learning over the course of a seven-game series.

Doesn’t matter if they’ve been to the postseason eight out of nine seasons like Vegas or if it’s their very first time as a franchise.

The learning never ends.

But what’s important for Utah is to internalize these early lessons.

Not only as they approach Game 6 but beyond into future seasons.

The Mammoth are proving that they have what it takes to be competitive in the playoffs.

Now they’ll have an opportunity to learn what they’re truly made of as they face elimination on Friday night.

“Win one at home. That’s our focus,” Crouse said confidently.