Goaltender Karel Vejmelka received plenty of cheers throughout the game as his strong performance held the Golden Knights to two goals on 32 shots. Early in the game, his play kept Vegas from taking an early lead. During each of Utah’s four penalties, he was a strong final line of defense. His performance, paired with a shutdown penalty kill, was a difference maker tonight.
“(Vejmelka) came up with a few timely saves for us and that's what it takes,” Associate captain Lawson Crouse said. “He's got to be our best (penalty killer), but everyone played their role tonight and did a great job.”
“It starts with your most important player on the PK, your goalie,” head coach André Tourigny said. “I think (Vejmelka) was rock solid. Made key saves at key moments. Our PK was tuned in. A few good block shots, and a few good clearings. I think they were solid. Our power play as well. Like I said before, a big goal. We had a great performance from our special teams.”
To round out its special teams effort, Utah’s power play scored its first man-advantage goal in the series when Dylan Guenther’s one-timer soared to the back of the net. The goal doubled Utah’s lead in the final three minutes of the first period. Guenther has earned two goals and three points over the last two games, after posting Utah’s first-ever playoff multi-point outing in Game 2 (per Mammoth PR).
That was only one of Utah’s first period tallies. The other was four minutes prior when Weegar brought the Delta Center to their feet with the Mammoth’s first home playoff goal in franchise history. As they were on the power play, the Mammoth were opportunistic throughout the game, as Utah scored on four of their 12 shots tonight. Another player who stepped up on the scoresheet was Crouse.
The associate captain converted on both of his shots and scored his first two goals in this playoff series. For his first of the night, Crouse deflected a pass from his linemate, Nick Schmaltz, past Hart four minutes into the middle frame. Five minutes later, Crouse’s shot from the high slot soared past Vegas’ netminder and increased Utah’s lead to 4-0. Crouse doubled Utah’s lead with two goals in a span of 5:42 and became the 12th player in NHL history to score multiple goals in a franchise’s first home playoff game (per Mammoth PR).
“What (Crouse) brings to the team, it goes above and beyond the goals,” Tourigny shared. “We can take as many (goals) as he wants, and that’s not a problem but (the) definition of his role and the impact he has on his teammates, and on the team is way above just the production. Obviously, two goal game, great game. We talked about our (penalty kill) earlier, he was a big part of it. He’s a big part of our PK. Played a solid game; he was physical … he played rock solid.”
Overall, the Mammoth had contributions from up and down the lineup to get the Game 3 win. Having multiple different players contributing is key in the playoffs. Through the first three games, Utah has 12 different players who have contributed at least a point. Four of those skaters have two goals already, while six players have contributed at least two points. Other players on the Mammoth are contributing in ways that don’t show up on the scoresheet. Regardless, Utah is happy with the depth they have and everyone showing up.
“There's lots of depth here,” Weegar explained. “Obviously, some guys are eventually going to step up too. So that's also a good sign. But I've talked about it a lot with this team. There are four lines that have identities, that can score, play both sides of the puck, and (six defensemen) the same way. I think me and (Mikhail Sergachev) were in the box, and the other four defenseman stepped up and had a big penalty kill. So, it's just the intangibles that everybody brings, and everybody can play in all situations, which this time of year is what you need.”
“It's huge,” Guenther said. “Everyone's playing well, whether they're scoring or not. Guys, they're physical, they're blocking shots, they're winning battles. It's just a collective team success.”
Both teams will have two days to rest and prepare for Game 4 on Monday night at the Delta Center.
Additional Notes from Tonight (per Mammoth PR)
- Utah became the sixth franchise that debuted in the 1990s or later to win its first postseason game on home ice. The Mammoth are also one of seven NHL franchises all-time to win both their first home regular-season contest (Oct. 8, 2024, vs CHI) and first home playoff contest.
- Including both the regular season and playoffs, Utah has now earned a 23-16-3 record at the Delta Center in 2025-26.
- Guenther’s two goals in Utah’s inaugural season and goal in the Mammoth’s first home playoff game, makes him one of our players in the NHL’s expansion era to light the lamp in any franchise’s first home regular-season and home playoff game (NHL Stats).
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