Opportunistic Mammoth feed off Delta Center energy, cruise past Vegas to take 2-1 series lead

“I think we did a good job of weathering the storm,” Head Coach Andre Tourigny said. “We scored a big goal on our power play, then we scored a big goal five-on-five, and then our power play took the lead from there.”

“I think until we took the 4-0 lead, it was a hard-fought game, and it was really good. Obviously, in the third, they had a big push, and they played well. They’re a good team. They played really well. Proud of the way we defended and the way we weathered the storm in the first period.”

As Tourigny pointed out, it was an incredibly hard-fought game through all three periods as both teams played to their strengths.

Similar to Game 1, Vegas was assertive on the forecheck, limited Utah’s O-zone time, battled in front of the net and eventually broke through.

However, it was too little, too late as the Mammoth continued to generate offense with their speed and an unmatchable pace.

Despite struggling to generate a high number of scoring chances, the Mammoth yet again attacked quickly to net four goals while locking things down on the PK and receiving a huge boost from Karel Vejmelka between the pipes.

“It starts with your most important player on the PK, your goalie,” Tourigny explained. “I think Vej (Karel Vejmelka) was rock solid. Made key saves at key moments.”

“Our PK was tuned in. A few good block shots, and a few good clearings. I think they were solid. Our power play as well. Like I said before, a big goal. We had a great performance from our special teams.”

It’s not often that a team wins a playoff game with only 12 shots on goal.

In fact, if you had told just about anybody beforehand that Vegas would outshoot Utah 32-12 in Game 3, they likely would’ve anticipated a 5-0 victory in favor of the Golden Knights.

But somehow, some way, Utah got the job done by capitalizing on their chances and fortunately for the home team, that’s all that matters in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Small moments added up defensively for the Utah Mammoth

As previously mentioned, it’s really hard to wrap one’s head around a playoff game where a team with only 12 shots beat a team with 32.

It just doesn’t make sense.

But in addition to a very efficient offensive approach, Utah kept the puck out of their own net by making a collection of small, individual plays that quickly added up.

Whether it was Vejmelka’s multiple timely saves throughout the night or Alexander Kerfoot’s outstretched effort to block a shot on the penalty kill, it’s those moments that define wins in the postseason.

“That’s huge in a one-goal game, and that just changes everything,” Dylan Guenther explained. “I think that’s obviously a big play, but it’s, it’s little plays too.”

“Like Colesy (Ian Cole) soaking up secondary blocks, good box outs, getting pucks, stuff like that, it just adds up. And it’s tiring for them.”

The beauty of playoff hockey is the parity.

Anybody can beat anybody on any given night, and it generally comes down to who wants it more.

As of right now in this series, that’s Utah.

And not that Vegas isn’t putting up a respectable fight, but the Mammoth simply want it more.