The Stars played a strong game and challenged the Mammoth from opening puck drop until the final whistle. Dallas’ pressure and quick start deterred Utah from finding its game until later in the game.
“I think Dallas played a hell of a game,” head coach André Tourigny explained. “I think they arrived; they were ready. They played a really good game, especially defensively. It was really tough for us to create any kind of offense, to have any space on the ice to win races, and stuff. They played really well but I thought it took too long for us to get in the game and to get to our game and to play with some kind of pace.”
“They put a lot of pressure on us, especially d-zone draws for us,” Peterka said of Dallas’ pressure. “We had troubles executing and getting out of the zone. Gotta give them credit for that.”
Utah will focus on improving its special teams after the penalty kill allowed two power play goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, and the power play went 0-for-2. Tourigny also wants to see his team focus on the game ahead of them and finding ways to win without room to make certain plays.
“A big topic for us in the last month or so is play the games in front of you,” Tourigny shared. “There’s some nights, there’s plays to be made. There’s some other nights there’s no plays to be made. There (was) nothing tonight. There were no seam (plays) or easy possession. They played really well. So, in those situations, you need to go with broken play, with quick attack from the forecheck, or shot volume and bodies at the net. We had a little bit of stubbornness in ourselves tonight. Trying to play the game we wanted to play instead (of playing) the game that was in front of us … we need to learn those nights where maybe you don’t have your A game, you don’t have your execution, and the opponent play well, we need to find a way to simplify and get the dirty goals.”
The Mammoth continue their homestand with a game against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. Tickets are available here!
Additional Notes from Tonight
- With the primary assist on Yamamoto’s goal, Peterka recorded his 100th career NHL assist. Peterka is the sixth-fastest player from the 2020 Draft to reach this benchmark. He recorded his 100th career assist in his 293rd NHL game.
- Over his last five games, Yamamoto has scored five goals, and he has seven total points (5G, 2A).
- John Marino’s seven points (2G, 5A) over the Mammoth’s eight home games in January led all defensemen (per Mammoth PR).
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