The Kings took a 2-0 lead in the first period with two quick goals from Adrian Kempe and Joel Armia. LA’s two tallies were separated by 2:18. Utah had a quick response to the second goal when Brandon Tanev scored on a breakaway; however, the play was deemed offside and the goal was overturned.
The Mammoth came out strong in the second period. Dylan Guenther’s power play goal in the opening minute of the middle frame got Utah on the board and cut LA’s lead to 2-1. After some passing around the zone, Clayton Keller set up Guenther and the forward scored his 11th of the season and third power play goal of the year.
“I think the way we were able to bounce back in the second, I think that’s one of our best second periods of the year,” Captain Clayton Keller explained. “In terms of everything game management, trying to out change them and use our speed. It sucks to have that little push there and not be able to get it done.”
Kings Captain Anže Kopitar extended Los Angeles’ lead to 3-1 in the first four minutes of the third period. The Mammoth responded nine minutes later when Keller scored his 10th of the season and cut LA’s lead to 3-2. The goal was the result of quick puck movement between Utah’s top line. JJ Peterka passed to Nick Schmaltz. Keller’s linemate then passed back to the Captain who then scored on his backhand.
The Mammoth continued to push late in the third period for the equalizer; however, the Kings scored an empty net goal in the final two minutes and increased their lead to 4-2. With the loss, the Mammoth are 14-14-3 and will look to take lessons from the game into the rest of the homestand.
“I think we understood that wasn’t our best tonight, even though we fought and clawed at the end there,” Tanev said of what the team learned. “That’s a good hockey team but at the end of the day we need to understand what makes us successful. We’ll work on that in practice and then we’re eager to get back here for the next one.”
“We need to make more plays and better play,” Tourigny explained. “We need to connect on our execution and there’s too many fumbled tonight; there’s too many plays (that) should have connected at the NHL level where we fumbled the puck so that cut your momentum as well. So that’s a matter of focus and that’s something we can get much better at.”
Additional Notes from Tonight
- Guenther’s goal 34 seconds into the second period tonight registered as the fourth-fastest goal to start any period in franchise history, as well as Utah’s fastest such goal this season (per Mammoth PR).
- Keller’s eighth multi-point outing of the season leads the Mammoth. He had two points tonight (1G, 1A) (per Mammoth PR).
- The Mammoth have scored power play goals in back-to-back games at Delta Center (per Mammoth PR).
The Mammoth’s homestand continues on Wednesday night against the Florida Panthers. Limited tickets are still available!
Upcoming Schedule
