McBain had an impactful night with a first period fight and his first career NHL shorthanded goal. His tally came at a critical time as the game was tied early in the third period and Dallas was pushing. The shorthanded goal started a push of three goals in 12 minutes and four goals in the third period for Utah to run away with the game.
“(He’s) someone (that was) doing the right things,” Nate Schmidt said of McBain’s performance. “You feel like it’s going come out in the end. I think he’s the epitome of that for our group. He takes a lot of face-offs, he goes (and) he gets a big tilt early. He answers the bell. He’s just a guy that you want on your club, you want (in) your lineup, and for him to be the guy that kind of gets us rocking and rolling up the rest of the game, that’s awesome, (I’m) proud of him.”
“I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of good things,” McBain reflected on his recent play. “I’ve been getting a lot of shots, a lot of chances, and sometimes it doesn’t go your way, but I was trying to stick with it mentally and obviously get to see that one go tonight, that’s good.”
In addition to McBain’s shorthanded tally, Captain Clayton Keller, Schmidt, Kailer Yamamoto, Michael Carcone (PPG), and Lawson Crouse (EN) scored in the win. 11 different players had points in the win. Tonight was also the first time in franchise history that the Mammoth have scored a shorthanded goal, a power play goal, and an empty net goal in one period and the fifth time that Utah has scored at all three strengths in a game.
The Mammoth’s penalty kill was also a high point as Utah kept the second-best power play in the NHL from scoring on any of its three opportunities. Utah’s effort shorthanded was noticeable and was the right level of assertiveness against an opportunistic Stars team.
“I think we’re in a much better space,” Schmid said of the penalty kill. “When we get a little bit more pressure to them, we get a little bit more pace, in that way, it cuts down the reads and switch offs, some handoffs that you can get into and just start your rotation. I thought we did a great job, cutting a couple plays and guys getting the puck down the whole way. That always makes a big difference.”
Vítek Vaněček played his third game in March and 17th game this season. He picked up his fifth win this season and stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced from a top offense. He made timely saves and was a solid last line of defense. Vaněček has a 3-0-2 record in his last five games and over that five game points streak he has a 2.38 goals-against average and .912 save percentage (per Mammoth PR).
The Mammoth are in a tough playoff race and picked up two valuable points tonight. This Central Division matchup was an opportunity for Utah to play a strong team game against a top opponent. Although the Mammoth are eager to book the team’s first playoff appearance in franchise history, tonight was an example of how pressure is a privilege.
"This is a game we've been playing our whole lives,” Schmidt reflected. “If you can embrace that and have some fun with it, it (the pressure) really does melt away, and you can really just enjoy the moment."
"We're proud of our effort,” Tourigny said. “Proud of a lot of things mentally in that game, but now we'll have a good test to be consistent."
The Mammoth will face the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday to kick off a back-to-back and start a series of three games in four nights to end the week.
Additional Notes from Tonight
- The Mammoth have focused on increasing their physicality and it showed. They had 26 hits tonight and it is the first time this season that Utah has had 26+ hits in three straight games.
- Captain Clayton Keller became the fourth skater to record 20 goals this season. Utah is tied with six other teams for most players who meet this threshold (CAR, WSH, BUF, ANA, VGK, MTL).
- The Mammoth have now snapped two opponents’ double-digit point streaks in 2025-26 (DAL: 15 GP & TOR: 10 GP), joining the Columbus Blue Jackets as the second team to do so multiple times this season (per NHL PR).
- Tonight was Utah’s 14th comeback win this season and the team’s first comeback win since Jan. 24 in Nashville (per Mammoth PR).
- At the start of warmups, the Mammoth announced that forward Kevin Stenlund is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Brandon Tanev entered the lineup and was on a line with Alexander Kerfoot and Kailer Yamamoto.
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