Schmidt has 4 points, Mammoth top Kraken to extend point streak to 7

SALT LAKE CITY -- Nate Schmidt had two goals and two assists, including the go-ahead goal with 5:30 remaining in the third period, and the Utah Mammoth defeated the Seattle Kraken 6-3 at Delta Center on Saturday.

Schmidt’s second goal of the game gave Utah a 4-3 lead, a one-timer past Philipp Grubauer off a pass from Clayton Keller.

“[Seattle] turned the puck over and I screamed at [Keller],” Schmidt said of the goal. “Clayton's an elite-level passer, and he makes that play and gives me a chance in front.”

Lawson Crouse had a goal and two assists, and Nick Schmaltz, Barrett Hayton, and Kevin Stenlund also scored for the Mammoth (25-20-4), who won their third straight and extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1). Keller had two assists, and Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves.

“It's a team we're racing with, so it's an important win,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “It's a big two points. Like the way we were opportunistic, and we found a way to score a big goal in that key moment.”

Jordan Eberle, Matty Beniers, and Chandler Stephenson scored for the Kraken (21-17-9), who have lost three in a row and five of their past six (1-3-2). Grubauer made 24 saves.

“We fell short late in the game again,” Seattle coach Lane Lambert said. “We can't continue to be either tied or ahead in the third period and lose a hockey game and not get any points out of it.”

Eberle gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 1:09 of the first period, beating Vejmelka with a backhanded shot.

Stenlund’s short-handed goal tied it 1-1 at 2:47, tapping the puck past Grubauer off a pass from Crouse.

Schmidt gave Utah a 2-1 lead after scoring 28 seconds into the second period on a slap shot past the glove of Grubauer.

“He's a really good pro. He's in every day, smiling every day, bringing energy every day, focused every day, urgent every day,” Tourigny said of Schmidt. “He's exactly what, when you talk about being a good pro, it's from the moment he steps in the building, everything he does; his therapy or his prep or his training or his practice… Nothing goes unrewarded in life, and he's a good example of it.”

Schmaltz extended it to 3-1 at 4:31, picking up a rebound off a shot from Schmidt and beating Grubauer blocker side.

Beniers cut it to 3-2 at 15:11 when he found the puck in the crease and knocked it in after it snuck through the pads of Vejmelka.

Stephenson made it 3-3 at 17:43, slotting the puck between the legs of Vejmelka on a breakaway.

“After the second, we were right where we wanted to be,” Seattle forward Berkly Catton said. “That’s where we’re a good team in those types of games but we just couldn’t get it done tonight.”

Following Schmidt’s go-ahead goal, Crouse made it 5-3 at 15:12 of the third period, beating Grubauer glove side with a shot from his knees in the slot.

“We talked about coming into the third and come back to our game, and we did that,” Crouse said. “There were parts throughout the game that we didn't love, but came away with a big two points.”

Hayton added an empty-net goal at 19:09 for the 6-3 final.

“I think as the year’s gone on, we’ve gotten into situations where we’re not panicking,” Schmidt said. “We’re a little more poised with pucks late in games. It’s something you have to have. As you grow as a team, that’s got to be something that grows with you. That was a really big part of today’s game.”

NOTES: Schmidt’s four points matched his single-game NHL-career high (four assists with the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 17, 2019, against the Calgary Flames). His first assist was also the 200th of his career, joining Torey Krug (394 assists) and Neal Pionk (218) as the third active undrafted defenseman to reach the milestone. … Utah defensemen have scored game-winning goals in five of their past six victories.