Mammoth bringing momentum home after 1st Stanley Cup Playoff win

LAS VEGAS -- All right, Utah. Get ready to get loud.

The Utah Mammoth earned their first Stanley Cup Playoff victory Tuesday when they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round.

And so, they will host their first home playoff game with the best-of-7 series tied 1-1. Game 3 is at Delta Center on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, Utah 16, SCRIPPS, TBS, TVAS2, SN360).

“I know all the guys in here, and the organization is super excited to see what the Delta Center’s like,” Utah defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. “I’m sure (the fans are) all anxious to get in that building and provide a lot of momentum for our group. We’re going to be ready to go, and I’m sure we’ll come out of the gates flying for them.”

The fans have reason to roar after what they saw in Game 2. In their second season in the NHL and first playoff series, the Mammoth showed toughness and resiliency. Two of their young stars -- 23-year-old Dylan Guenther and 21-year-old Logan Cooley -- made huge plays.

“I feel like we’ve earned the right to be here,” Guenther said. “We had a great regular season, and we prepared for it. It’s just exciting to kind of be in that moment, and it’s just a ton of fun.”

Utah’s 4-2 loss in Game 1 could have been crushing, intimidating. The Mammoth have much less experience than the Golden Knights, who have made the playoffs eight times in nine seasons since entering the NHL as an expansion team in 2017-18 and won the Stanley Cup in 2023. The Mammoth blew a 2-1 third period lead and were outhit 51-31.

But they kept cool and responded in Game 2.

“To come back and have that performance, it shows a lot for this group right now,” Utah forward Kailer Yamamoto said.

The Mammoth started to find their game in the second period. Guenther, who led them with 40 goals in the regular season, gave them a 2-1 lead at 14:56 with a wicked one-timer from top of the left circle.

Ivan Barbashev tied it 2-2 just 1:02 later. The Golden Knights seemed in good shape entering the third period, considering they have been perhaps the best third period team in the NHL this season and had outscored the Mammoth 3-0 in the third in Game 1.

Utah kept coming, though.

“There’s a lot of emotions in these playoff games, a lot of ups and downs, and I think you have to just find a way to stay levelheaded,” Guenther said. “Different things happen -- good calls, bad calls, different momentum swings. I think we did a good job of staying levelheaded, and that’s what we need to do moving forward.”

The game-winning goal came with exactly six minutes to go. Guenther flew past defenseman Shea Theodore on the left wing and fired a shot. Carter Hart made the save, and Guenther clanked the rebound off the left post. Cooley drove to the net and banged in the puck. Speed, skill and grit.

“Those guys are exceptional players,” Weegar said. “When they get time and space like that, we know that they’re going to come up clutch and make some big plays for our group. But I think they’re just having a blast. It rubs off on the older guys like me to see how much fun they’re having, so it’s fun to watch.”

Cooley has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in nine regular-season games against Vegas, including 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in six games with Utah. Now he has two goals in two playoff games against the Golden Knights, too.

“It’s so exciting playing in these games,” Cooley said. “You’re playing for the Cup. It’s what you’ve dreamed of since you were a little kid, and you just want to leave everything out there. The games are so intense, physical, fast, and I think that kind of fits my game. I’m just trying to add those attributes into these games, and it’s clicking right now. Just got to keep moving.”

The Mammoth didn’t sit on the lead and withstood a final push by the Golden Knights.

“Just staying with it is the biggest thing, and I think our speed just allowed us to keep going at them, keep pressuring them,” Guenther said. “Even when we scored the third goal, I thought we did a really good job of just continuing to attack.”

After the game, Utah owners Ryan and Ashley Smith gathered with a group near the locker room. As they walked out the door into the Las Vegas night, Ryan shouted back toward a group of reporters, looking ahead to Game 3 in Salt Lake City.

“It’s going to be wild in Utah!” he said.