Mammoth 'have a lot of confidence' heading into 1st playoff game

SALT LAKE CITY -- For forwards Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, two of the youngest skaters on the Utah Mammoth roster, getting to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a lifelong goal achieved.

The two will get that experience in the first playoff game in Mammoth history when Utah visits the Vegas Golden Knights for Game 1 of the best-of-7 Western Conference First Round on Sunday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS, Utah16, SCRIPPS).

"I'm just super excited to be in this position, to be playing for the Stanley Cup," said Cooley, 22, who is in his third NHL season. "This is what you dream of as a young kid.

"We've got to make sure we stay focused on this group and what we need to do to accomplish getting out of this series. It starts with Game 1, and that's what we're focused on right now."

Guenther, who is in his fourth season, had career highs with 40 goals and 73 points this season. 

"I think we've been playing well," the 23-year-old said. "We kind of had a task going in the last, I think maybe eight games, where we had to play well to get in the spot that we're in and we did that. So I mean, I'm confident. We had a little time off, had some fun and it's time to get going."

The Mammoth have a balance of young forwards and veteran defensemen that the team believes can help them in their playoff series against the Golden Knights.

Defenseman Nate Schmidt (2025 with Florida), Mikhail Sergachev (2020, 2021 with Tampa Bay) and Ian Cole (2017, 2018 with Pittsburgh) have won the Stanley Cup before, and MacKenzie Weegar has more than 600 games of NHL experience.

"I'm looking forward to getting the puck to those young kids and seeing what they can do, and making their names in the playoffs, which is great," Weegar said. "We've got a great back end, we're deep back there, great goaltending. We kind of have it all."

The Mammoth won two of the three games against the Golden Knights this season, including a 5-1 win that saw Cooley score four goals in the game.

"I think we have a lot of confidence in this group," Cooley said. "We've had success all year against top end teams, and we're in the playoffs for a reason. I think when we're at our best, we're playing with a lot of speed, a lot of pace, physical, closing, giving them limited time and space. And when we're doing those things we're a tough team to beat. And I expect a lot of that out of us in this series."

Utah won five of its final six road games of the regular season, including a 4-0 win in Vegas on March 19.

"I think the guys are super focused," coach Andre Tourigny said. "We see it in our meetings and the way they carry themselves, the way they talk. … They're tuned in, the answers are quick, they're into it. So they know what's going on. Their preparation is really good so far. So, no doubt we'll be ready now. Let's go execute."

Guenther may lack playoff experience, but said he knows what to expect when the series begins.

"It's important to not just be overwhelmed by the moment," Guenther said. "We deserve to be here, and we've earned that. We've obviously been through a little bit more adversity, just not making it in a while, but I think that we earned the spot, and it's just exciting to go out there and try to show it."