Mammoth upbeat, eager to learn from loss in Stanley Cup Playoff debut

LAS VEGAS -- The Utah Mammoth missed a massive opportunity Sunday. They lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round after blowing a 2-1 third-period lead.

But in the first Stanley Cup Playoff game in their history, they had a chance to win a physical, tight-checking battle on the road against a team with a history of postseason success.

“There’s no reason for us to be down on ourselves right now,” forward Lawson Crouse said.

There’s reason to believe. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; Utah16, SCRIPPS, ESPN2, TVAS2, SN, CBC).

“From now on, it’s a race of improvement,” coach Andre Tourigny said. “We have stuff we can be better at, and we’ll make some adjustments. But I’m really proud of the way we performed.”

The Mammoth entered Game 1 as the underdogs.

While this was their first playoff game since the NHL Board of Governors approved a new franchise in Utah on April 18, 2024, this was the Golden Knights’ 107th since they entered the NHL as an expansion team in 2017-18.

Vegas had almost exactly double (1,225 games) the amount of playoff experience on its roster than Utah (612) did. The Golden Knights had won 62 games and 12 series in the playoffs -- and the Stanley Cup in 2023. 

That said, in the regular season, the Mammoth (92), the first wild card in the West, were three points behind the Golden Knights (95), the Pacific Division champions. Since entering the League last season, they had gone 3-2-1 against them, including 2-0-1 at T-Mobile Arena.

In the rearview mirror, they were closer than they appeared.

The Mammoth looked like they belonged from puck drop, generating scoring chances, standing up for themselves in scrums.

One of seven players making his NHL playoff debut, forward Logan Cooley scored the first playoff goal in Utah history with a one-timer from the right circle with 11 seconds left in the first period, giving the Mammoth a 1-0 lead.

After forward Colton Sissons scored for Vegas to tie it 1-1 at 3:44 of the second period, forward Kevin Stenlund gave Utah a 2-1 lead with a lucky goal at 5:07. Defenseman Sean Durzi rimmed the puck around the boards, and goalie Carter Hart couldn’t corral it. Stenlund threw it at the net from the right wing. It went off Hart’s stick, off defenseman Kaedan Korczak and into the net.

The score stayed that way until 5:33 of the third period, when Vegas captain Mark Stone banged in a rebound with 12 seconds left on a power play to tie it 2-2. Center Nic Dowd deflected a puck into the net at 7:20 to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead, and forward Ivan Barbashev iced it with an empty-net goal at 18:21.

The shots were 33-31, Utah.

“I think early on, we did a good job of playing our game, playing our style,” Cooley said. “Then maybe let off a little bit towards the third, and it cost us.”

Maybe experience was a factor.

“I think some of our guys tonight got a taste of what it’s like, right?” said defenseman Nate Schmidt, who appeared in the 100th playoff game of his NHL career.

Right.

“You’ve got to learn,” said Crouse, who appeared in the 10th playoff game of his NHL career. “It’s a game about learning. It’s a game of inches out there. You know, regular season, it seems like it’s a game about feet. Playoffs, it seems like it’s a game of inches. So, everything happens way quicker. Mentally, you’ve got to be on the ball.”

The encouraging thing for the Mammoth, though, is that they were in a good place mentally for the most part.

“I think we did a great job during that game, even when they took the lead or when they tied the game,” Tourigny said. “It did not affect our spirit on the bench. It did not affect the way the guys talked or their intensity or so on and so forth. We even raised our game from there.

“I think we’ll learn a lot through the series, no doubt about it. But I think as a first game, would have loved to win the game, no doubt about it, but I think we pushed back after they took the lead. We stayed in control. The guys were calm on the bench, were even-keeled.

“We didn’t act like we were a young team or our team (had) a lack of experience. It was the reverse, I felt.”