Ahead of the game, the team announced that forwards Dylan Guenther (upper-body, out approximately 2-4 weeks) and Logan Cooley (upper-body, day-to-day) would be unavailable. Early in the second period, center Nick Schmaltz suffered a lower-body injury. As a result, he only played 7:19, which is significantly less than his normal ice time.
In addition to the team’s depleted roster, Utah struggled in the second period, when they were outscored, 3-1. The team battled back with Simashev’s third period tally; however, Vegas scored shortly after to regain control and a two-goal lead. As Utah looks to move forward, resilience will be key.
“We talk about adversity,” Crouse said. “These are the moments where we all need to rise up. Everyone in the locker room needs to demand more out of themselves, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Crouse, McBain, and defenseman Andrew Peeke factored into two of Utah’s goals. All three players recorded their first multi-point efforts this season.
“The first one, my goal, it was a puck going to the net and just popped out perfectly on the weak side,” Crouse shared. “And then great shot by (McBain), and then another great pass by (McBain). You love to see it from (McBain). He’s a guy that does everything right. True teammate and nice to see him get rewarded.”
“(McBain) had a really, really good night. Same thing for (Crouse). I think they played with a lot of drive, a lot of passion. They (won) battles, they played really well.”
It’s a quick turnaround for Utah as the team will host the St. Louis Blues in a divisional matchup tomorrow night. Taking lessons from tonight’s loss will help Utah as the team looks to snap a three-game losing skid.
“We just got to play a little bit quicker,” Crouse explained. “Obviously, they’re a good team. We knew that. But we can do a few things. We can clean up our play with the puck. I think when you take a look at that game, our breakouts weren’t (there). There were plays to be made and we weren’t exactly making them. So, obviously learn from that, regroup, and huge game tomorrow night. We can learn but we (have to) turn the page.”
“We need to be more connected and more in control,” Tourigny shared. “There’s a reality of some injuries. We need to be big boys and play the kind of game we can win. And play a game where we can be really, really stingy, play really good defensively, and apply pressure, get on the forecheck, get heavy on pucks, stuff like that.”
Although Thursday will be another tough test, Utah is confident in their team and their ability to persevere.
“We believe in everyone in our locker room, and it’s that next guy up mentality,” Crouse said. “We knew coming in it would be a difficult game, but we just got to learn from it, regroup, and get ready for tomorrow night.”
Additional Notes from Tonight (per Utah Mammoth PR)
- Simashev (1G) has scored four goals over his last eight games, tied for the most of any NHL defenseman over that stretch.
- McBain (1G, 2A) posted his third career three-point game, two of which have come with Utah.
- Utah’s 17 total players with a multi-point performance in 2026-27 now trail only Carolina (19) for the most of any NHL team.
Final Stats
Shots: VGK 28, UTA 17
Power Play: VGK 2/4, UTA 0/1
Hits: UTA 27, VGK 23
Blocked Shots: UTA 10, VGK 10
Face-Off %: UTA 54.7%, VGK 45.3%
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