MORNING SKATE NOTES
- Utah held an optional morning skate on Tuesday after a full team practice on Monday
- The Mammoth are looking for a bounce back effort where they play to their identity
Bouncing Back
This season, Utah has not lost consecutive games. In order to continue that trend, the Mammoth need to play to their identity.
“We need to just come out with some good energy,” Lee said after morning skate. “Get back to playing our game and fast. Maybe (we’re) thinking a little bit too much the last few nights and that slows us down. So, I think getting to a point where we’re just going, we’re just playing the game, and playing it the right way. Things will settle in and we can just go from there. But kind of eliminating the thought process too much, for sure.”
In addition to eliminating the pause in their game, the Mammoth want to bring the speed that they’re know for. Lee discussed what stands out about his team’s play when they’re executing at the highest level.
“I think it’s our pace, it’s our execution,” Lee explained. “And what comes from that is when you play with pace, it puts the other team on their heels and puts them on reactionary-type defense and stuff like that. I think that we’ve just been on the other side of that a little bit too much lately, but that’s the game. There’s going to be momentum swings within a hockey game, within a period, and just handling that, we can do a better job of.”
Matching Up Against the Maple Leafs
Head coach Andre Tourigny discussed tonight’s opponent and what his team needs to do against the Maple Leafs.
“Toronto has (defenseman Chris) Tanev back, and a few guys back. I think they score a lot of goals, they’re a good offensive team. So, for us, it’s about getting back to our identity and playing our A-game.”
Facing Bob
Toronto announced that Sergei Bobrovsky will play for the Maple Leafs tonight. Lee, who has faced this netminder throughout his career, shared what it takes to score against him.
“He’s very technical, but also extremely athletic,” Lee said. “You put one in on him, that one means a lot. So, we got our work cut out for him tonight. He’s a Hall of Fame goaltender, and he’s had a phenomenal career and still has a ton of games. We got a lot of work for him and gotta make it tough on him tonight as much as we can.”
Utah’s Depth
A strength all season long has been Utah’s depth. Whether it’s relying on different players in the lineup, or changing the lines within games, the Mammoth have a lot of flexibility.
“It’s important for us,” Tourigny said of the team’s depth. “We have contributions (from) our full lineup since the start of the season. Obviously, we have a few bumps right now, a few guys hurt, but we have depth and we’re comfortable with our lineup. I think that’s the NHL now. You need to have your depth, and you need to have contributions from many guys.”
