Jones scored both of his goals in the first period, for his first career two-goal game. Being able to contribute offensively has allowed him to gain confidence, especially as he steps up for the team during injuries.
“For me personally, it gives me confidence, and I think that being a guy who is coming in the lineup with all these injuries, it kind of fuels the group a little bit,” Jones reflected. “You know, obviously, nobody's kind of necessarily expecting me to put up two goals, and I really am not expecting myself. But it's good for me personally, and I think it was good for the team.”
“Yeah, no, he's done a great job,” Hayton said of Jones. “I thought he had a great training camp. Came in; he's got a lot of poise, makes plays, skates well. Yeah, he's really calm back there. Obviously, great for him to get those two goals. Made a couple of other great plays. Exits out of the D zone. Some plays off the rush. Yeah, really good player.”
Due to injuries, Utah’s power play units have changed; however, the team scored twice on the man-advantage with goals from alternate captain Mikhail Sergachev and center Barrett Hayton. The team has scored multiple power play goals in 10 games this season, which is three more than any other team. Their 25 total power play goals are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for the league lead.
“Having an attack mindset,” Hayton said of the power play success. “(Sergachev) shooting the puck, just trying to play connected, get recoveries off that, wear them down, and continue to attack. I think both the goals are kind of off in those situations.”
Defenseman Andrew Peeke fought twice in Saturday’s game and brought an extra spark to his team, and the Delta Center. It was the defenseman’s third and fourth career fights, and he became the second player in franchise history (also Robert Bortuzzo) to fight twice in a single contest.
“Yeah, that was awesome,” Jones said of the fights. “I’ve only known these guys for a short period of term, but (Peeke) is a guy that is very well respected in this locker room. I know a lot of guys really took that to heart, and it really fueled the group.”
Utah will look to grow from this game and the adversity the team has faced over the last week. However, one thing remains consistent, Utah will continue to fight and work hard every single night.
“I think we did a good job at crowding the net, putting pucks at the net, and simplifying our game, and we made plays when it was time to make plays,” Tourigny said “…we felt a little bit of pressure early in the game. I think with our puck management, we were a little bit more nervous with the puck than we should have been, but I think we regrouped in the third period. I liked our poise. Maybe sometimes we had a little bit too much poise in some situations, but we need to find that right balance.”
“I mean, that's the NHL. There's always adversity,” Hayton shared. “It's no unique situation. Every team goes through it, and I think we talked about it a couple of days ago. I thought against St. Louis, we did a good job showing that. I think it just needs to be more consistent every night. It can't be ups and downs, and we just have to stay with it, regardless of the kind of situation, and kind of have that kind of cliché, but an overtime mentality throughout, no matter what the score or situation is.”
Additional Notes from Tonight (per Utah Mammoth PR)
- Jones’ most recent NHL goal came almost exactly two years ago, as he lit the lamp for the Rangers in a 2-0 win at Seattle (11/17/24).
- All three goals in the first period were scored by defensemen (Jones and Sergachev), marking the first time in franchise history that Utah’s blue line combined for three goals in a single game.
- Utah leads the NHL with 19 goals from defensemen, through 21 games this season, and the Utah Mammoth are the only NHL team with goals from seven different blueliners this season.
- Center Vincent Trocheck converted his shootout attempt for the second straight game, improving to 2-for-2 with Utah and 25-for-60 (41.7%) in his shootout career.
Final Stats
Score: 6-5 SOL
Shots: UTA 32, SJS 21
Power Play: UTA 2/5, SJS 2/6
Hits: UTA 31, SJS 30
Blocked Shots: UTA 18, SJS 11
Face-Off %: 58.2%, 41.8%
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