Vanecek records 1st shutout of season, Mammoth top Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Vitek Vanecek made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season for the Utah Mammoth in a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday.

It was Vanecek's first game since Jan. 27 and his 100th NHL victory.

"It felt really good," Vanecek said. "I didn't play for a long, long time with the (Olympic) break, and then try to be in my bubble, not thinking about anything, just save the puck."

Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist, Clayton Keller and Michael Carcone scored, and Dylan Guenther had two assists for Utah (33-25-4), which went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill after allowing six power-play goals in its previous five games.

"I thought we were pretty good all night," Schmaltz said. "I think we stuck with it, we didn't give them much. 'V' made some really good saves when he needed to for us. 'PK' did a great job, power play stepped up, so good all-around team effort."

Dan Vladar made 20 saves for Philadelphia (28-22-11), which had its three-game winning streak end.

The Flyers' 16 shots on goal matched a season low.

"We were soft," Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. "Execution was tough. We had some chances. We had about three or four 4-on-2's, a couple of chances, hopefully one would go in. ... It's one of those games where you have a tough time saying who had a good game."

Vanecek had a role in that, with his first shutout since March 8, 2025, against the Buffalo Sabres.

His best save came with 1:54 left in the first period, when a shot from the point by Flyers defenseman Noah Juulsen was blocked but rolled to forward Bobby Brink just to Vanecek's left. The goalie lunged forward and was able to glove the shot.

"The puck gets on the side, and I just tried to push hard as possible and then put my glove forward, and then he hit it," Vanecek said. "So, really happy for that."

He made another lunging glove save to rob forward Noah Cates on a shot from the left side with 15:19 remaining in the second period.

"He's a [heck] of a pro, great guy, works hard," Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said. "With the break, I don't know when exactly (was) his last game, but it was a while back. It was a tough situation. ... I think he's been put in tough spots, often on the back end of the back-to-backs, stuff like that. So, I think he gives us a chance to win when he's in there, and that's what's important."

Vanecek admitted the long breaks between games have been tough mentally. It was his 15th game of the season and just the third since the calendar turned to 2026.

"That was really tough, I'm not going to lie," Vanecek said. "Always when you come back, it's hard to breathe. It's not same with practice, the game is always different. But you're trying to just dial in in practice and then do what you do in the games. That's the only thing I can do, and then wait when I get the chance."

Schmaltz scored a power-play goal at 1:38 of the second period to give the Mammoth a 1-0 lead. Guenther drew the attention of all four Flyers penalty killers as he cut through the middle of the zone and then slipped a backhand pass to Schmaltz, who scored on a sharp-angled snap shot from along the goal line.

Keller made it 2-0 at 8:03. Guenther knocked the puck away from Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim in Utah's zone, poked it past defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and outraced him to the loose puck in Philadelphia's zone. Guenther then found Keller skating in open ice through the middle, and he slid a backhand shot under Vladar's pads.

The Flyers had the chance to get back in the game but failed to convert with just one shot on goal on three power plays.

"I think we didn't win enough battles 1-on-1," Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. "They scored a power-play goal, 'PK' has got to get the job done, and then it felt like we were chasing, trying to open up the game. I don't think we played a good team game tonight." 

Carcone closed the scoring with an empty-net goal at 18:12 of the third period.

NOTES: Utah played without defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who is considered day-to-day because of a lower-body injury. ... Schmaltz's goal was his 24th of the season, a career high. ... Mammoth forward JJ Peterka played his 300th NHL game. ... Cates had his four-game point streak end. ... Ristolainen played his 800th NHL game.