Mammoth lose West 1st Round to Golden Knights, inability to hold leads among factors

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Mammoth were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round on Friday.

The Mammoth (43-33-6) were the first wild card in the West, making their first playoff appearance in franchise history in their second season.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Alex Kerfoot, F; Kevin Stenlund, F; Michael Carcone, F; Kailer Yamamoto, F; Kevin Rooney, F; Andrew Agozzino, F; Ian Cole, D; Nick DeSimone, D; Vitek Vanecek, G

Potential restricted free agents: Barrett Hayton, F

Potential 2026 Draft picks: 7

Here are five reasons why the Mammoth were eliminated:

1. Inability to close out games

The Mammoth held leads in the third period in each of the first five games of the series only to lose three of them. The two biggest losses came in Games 4 and 5, when the Mammoth held a 2-1 lead in the series.

In Game 4, Brett Howden scored with 9:35 left in the third period to force overtime. Shea Theodore would go on to score for the Golden Knights at 19:08  of overtime to even the series.

In Game 5, the Mammoth were ahead until the final minute when Pavel Dorofeyev scored the game-tying goal with 53 seconds left in regulation. Howden scored the game winner at 5:28 of double overtime to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 series lead.

2. Power-play woes

Heading into the Olympic break, the Mammoth power play was second-worst in the league at 15.6 percent but after that, they found a spark and had the third-best power play at 30 percent.

That momentum didn't carry into the playoffs; The Mammoth went 1-for-16 on the power play in the six games, including 0-for-10 in the final three games of the series. To make matters worse, the Mammoth allowed two short-handed goals, including Howden's game winner in Game 5.

3. Inexperience showed

One of the biggest storylines heading into the series was the inexperience of the Mammoth versus the playoff pedigree of the Golden Knights.

After Game 6, Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said, "(Clayton Keller) and (Nick Schmaltz), when the series started, they were kind of, 'That's not the same, it's just not the same hockey. It's just different.'"

Eight players made their playoff debuts in the series for the Mammoth and for others like Keller and Lawson Crouse, their only playoff experience prior to this season came with the Arizona Coyotes in 2020 with no fans in Edmonton due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Utah responded well to the challenge early on, but their inexperience most likely played a factor in their inability to close out games and ultimately led to their elimination.

4. Defensive turnovers

For large spans of each game, the Mammoth were held in their defensive zone for extended periods of time.

According to NHL EDGE stats, the Golden Knights were in the offensive zone 43.8 percent of the time, second most in the playoffs (Carolina Hurricanes; 45.8 percent). The Mammoth also surrendered 53 high-danger shots on goal in the series, which is also second most in the playoffs to Buffalo (54). Most of their issues came on breakouts where turnovers led to several goals, including the game-winning goals in Games 1 and 5.

The biggest example came in Game 6 when the Golden Knights spent two minutes in the offensive zone late in the second period, capped off by a goal by Mitch Marner to give the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead.

5. Ran out of gas in Game 6

The Mammoth were able to hang with the Golden Knights through the first five games of the series, but the overtime losses in Games 4 and 5 took a toll on the team when they came back home for Game 6 in Salt Lake City.

The Mammoth were held off the scoreboard for the first two periods and trailed 2-0 heading into the third period. After pulling within one halfway through the third, the Golden Knights scored twice in a span of 2:30 to put the game out of reach. The Mammoth only found the back of the net once in the game, their lowest scoring output of the series.