3 Things to Watch: Mammoth at Golden Knights, Game 1 of Western Conference 1st Round

(1WC) Mammoth at (1P) Golden Knights

Western Conference First Round, Game 1

10 p.m. ET; Utah16, SCRIPPS, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC

LAS VEGAS -- The Utah Mammoth are “calm,” “even-keeled” and “focused” entering their Stanley Cup Playoff debut against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, according to coach Andre Tourigny.

“We see it in our meetings and the way they carry themselves, the way they talk,” he said. “… Their preparation is really good so far, so no doubt we’ll be ready now. Let’s go execute.”

Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round will be Utah’s first playoff game since the NHL Board of Governors approved the new franchise on April 18, 2024.

Many of the Mammoth have little-to-no NHL playoff experience. Michael Carcone, Logan Cooley, Nick DeSimone, Dylan Guenther, Liam O'Brien, JJ Peterka and Karel Vejmelka have never played a game. Nick Schmaltz has played in four games, all as a rookie with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017. Lawson Crouse and Clayton Keller have played in nine, all with the Arizona Coyotes in 2020, when there were no fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now they’re coming into “The Fortress,” perhaps the craziest playoff environment in the NHL, and facing a team loaded with playoff experience that won the Stanley Cup in 2023.

But the Mammoth have many NHL playoff veterans too. Five have won the Cup: Ian Cole (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2016 and 2017), Nate Schmidt (Florida Panthers, 2025), Mikhail Sergachev (Tampa Bay Lightning, 2020 and 2021), Kevin Stenlund (Panthers, 2025) and Vitek Vanecek (Panthers, 2025). Two have been part of a win in an NHL franchise’s first playoff game: Schmidt (Golden Knights, 2018) and Brandon Tanev (Seattle Kraken, 2023).

Utah is 3-2-1 against Vegas in the regular season, including 2-0-1 at T-Mobile Arena.

“I think it’s going to be a fun Game 1,” said Schmidt, who played in Vegas from 2017-20. “A lot of times, the guys are going to look around, and the bench is just going to be rumbling. The music’s going to be playing -- you know, warmups, all the stuff that they got going on. It’s a show. They do a great job.

“(It’s) just slowing down the moment and understanding where you are. We deserve to be here, and we’re a good team. Things are going to happen in the game that you don’t like. Fans are going to get up and get rowdy, and you are going to have to be able to harness that emotion. But if you take it as a ‘if we can find a way to quiet them down,’ then that’s a win for us.”

Here are three things to watch in Game 1:

1. Loading up

Vegas might load up its top line with Mitch Marner, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone.

“I’m not sure if it works,” coach John Tortorella said. “I’m not sure if I stay with it. … I’d like to see it work. … We’ve been practicing with them the past couple days. Do we start with them (in Game 1)? I don’t know.”

Tortorella has experimented since taking over with eight games to go in the regular season. When he has put Marner, Eichel and Stone together, he has liked how his top three lines have looked. He also knows his top line will be strong on both ends.

“Sometimes when you get the big point guys all together, they forget about the other side of the puck,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about that for a second with these guys. That’s nice for a coach to have.”

Stone said: “It takes a little bit of stress off each other. But as you see, it’s probably going to change at some point, right? That’s just the way ‘Torts’ coaches. He tries to get a little spark.”

2. Speed kills

The Mammoth want to play to their strength.

“Our speed, I feel, is unmatched within this league,” said 32-year-old defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, acquired from the Calgary Flames on March 4. “Our youth is high class. It’s elite. So, I’m looking forward to getting the puck to those young kids and seeing what they can do.”

Weegar said their “confidence is through the roof” when they play their style.

“It’s fast on the forecheck,” he said. “The reloads are fast. The gaps are tight. We’re in your face. We’re physical. We’re putting pucks to the net. We’re breaking the puck out clean. We’re kind of doing all of it, and we’re really putting their team on their heels, and we’re gaining momentum.

“Next thing, maybe we draw a penalty, or we score. The big thing after that is keeping that momentum with our group. But when we are on our game like I’ve seen it here, it’s fun to be on this side. It really is.”

3. New in net

Utah has never faced goalie Carter Hart, who is expected to start for Vegas after going 6-0-0 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .930 save percentage down the stretch. In his only previous playoff run, he went 9-5 with a 2.23 GAA, .926 save percentage and two shutouts in 14 games (all starts) for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2020.

“He’s really calm in his net,” Tourigny said. “He moves really well. … He has good structure, let’s put it that way, and he’s good with the puck as well. … Did a lot of video, a lot of prep.”

Mammoth projected lineup

Clayton Keller -- Nick Schmaltz -- Lawson Crouse

Kailer Yamamoto -- Logan Cooley -- Dylan Guenther

JJ Peterka -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Michael Carcone

Liam O’Brien -- Kevin Stenlund -- Brandon Tanev

Mikhail Sergachev -- MacKenzie Weegar

Nate Schmidt -- John Marino

Ian Cole -- Nick DeSimone

Karel Vejmelka

Vitek Vanecek

Scratched: Daniil But, Kevin Rooney, Dmitri Simashev, Matt Villalta

Injured: Sean Durzi (upper body), Barrett Hayton (upper body), Jack McBain (lower body)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Mitch Marner -- Jack Eichel -- Mark Stone

Ivan Barbashev -- Brett Howden -- Pavel Dorofeyev

Reilly Smith -- Tomas Hertl -- Keegan Kolesar

Cole Smith -- Nic Dowd -- Colton Sissons

Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore

Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson

Jeremy Lauzon -- Kaedan Korczak

Carter Hart

Adin Hill

Scratched: Ben Hutton, Brandon Saad, Akira Schmid

Injured: William Karlsson (lower body), Jonas Rondbjerg (lower body)

Status report

The Mammoth are expected to use the same 18 skaters from their regular-season finale, a 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. … The Golden Knights held an optional morning skate. Marner is expected to move up to the top line, with Barbashev moving down. 

NHL.com independent correspondents Paul Delos Santos and Matt Komma contributed to this report