Utah Blanks Philadelphia, 3-0

PHILADELPHIA – In a strong team performance where goaltender Vítek Vaněček recorded his first shutout as a Mammoth, and forward Nick Schmaltz set a new career-high in goals, the Utah Mammoth beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-0. 

“Really good game from our (penalty kill),” head coach André Tourigny said. “(Vaněček) was rock solid, early in the first period made two key saves, same thing early in the second, two key saves, and from there I think we played really good. Credit to (Philadelphia), they closed the middle, it was really tough to create offense against them. They don’t make mistakes. They don’t open up the play, so you can’t counterattack, stuff like that. But big goal on the power play … happy about the (type) of game we played.”

Thursday was Vaněček’s first game since Jan. 27 and the netminder stopped all 16 shots he faced. Vaněček’s first shutout this season was also his 100^th career-win. Throughout the game Vaněček made timely saves and stayed even-keel to help Utah start the road trip 2-0-0. Even though he hadn’t played a game in over a month, Vaněček was able to put on a strong performance against the Flyers.

“Feels really good,” Vaněček reflected postgame. “I didn’t play for a long time with (the Olympic) break. Then try to be in my bubble, then not thinking about anything, just save the puck and help my teammates because I know they’re always going to score for me.”

“It’s huge,” Tourigny said of Vaněček stepping up in his first game since late January. “Happy for him. He’s a hell of a pro, great guy, works hard, and now with the break, I don’t know when exactly is his last game, but it was awhile back, so it was a tough situation … He was ready for today, and (a) hell of a performance.”

Schmaltz’s 24 goals this season are a new career-high. He’s been a consistently strong presence and has taken on more responsibility with the switch from wing to center. His goal on the power play came just eight seconds into the man-advantage and opened the scoring early in the second period. In addition to his goal, he had an assist on Utah’s second goal of the game. Tourigny discussed Schmaltz’s maturity following the win.

“He’s a mature person, mature man,” Tourigny explained. “He really wants to make a difference. I always say about Schmaltz, (he’s) a gamer. He wants to play in those moments, and I think he’s excited about where our team is at, and he wants to be a big part of it, and he is. He’s a huge leader for us.”

Utah held Philadelphia to 16 total shots: four in the first period, seven in the second, and five in the third. The Mammoth showed their strong defensive game in the win.

“I think that’s when we’re at our best, when we’re defending hard,” Schmaltz said. “We’re playing with a lot of pace, not giving them time and space, frustrating them, and making them force plays, and then we turn it over and go the other way.”

On the flip side, against a stingy Philadelphia defense, Utah generated 23 shots including 14 in the second period. Schmaltz spoke to what led to the increased opportunities in the middle frame.

“A little bit more direct,” Schmaltz shared. “I think our transition game was really good. We were catching them, kind of hemming them in. Good line changes and just rolling them over and shooting a little bit more.”

In addition to Schmaltz’s goal, Captain Clayton Keller scored his 19^th of the season seven and half minutes after his linemate’s tally to increase the score to 2-0. Michael Carcone’s empty net goal with 1:48 left in regulation secured the 3-0 win.

Additional Notes from Tonight (per Mammoth PR)

• The Mammoth’s power play went 1-for-2 against the Flyers. Utah has scored seven power play goals in seven games (7-for-18, 38.9%). On the other side of special teams, the Mammoth’s penalty kill went 3-for-3.

• JJ Peterka played his 300^th NHL game. Peterka was selected 34th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft and is the ninth player from his draft class to reach the milestone. He is also just the eighth German-born forward in NHL history to accomplish the feat.

• Keller has recorded 11 points in his last seven games (2/2-3/5: 3g, 8a), finding the scoresheet in six of those contests.

• With two assists tonight, Dylan Guenther has posted his second straight multi-point outing (3/3 at WSH: 1g, 1a) and his third in five games (2/25 vs. COL: 2g).

Utah has won the first two games of a five-game road trip. Up next, the Mammoth travel to Columbus and face the Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Upcoming Schedule

• Mar. 7: UTA vs CBJ

• Mar. 9: UTA vs CHI

• Mar. 10: UTA vs MIN