With consecutive 4-1 losses after clinching a playoff berth last Thursday night — first to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday and most recently to the Calgary Flames on Sunday — frustration is …
Sometimes teams win so many games they never have to worry about their playoff positioning. Other times, they lose just enough to stay humble.
Both teams are capable of winning.
This year’s Colorado Avalanche are a good example of the former. They officially clinched the Presidents’ Trophy with four games remaining in the season, but they were so dominant throughout the entire season that it was never really a question.
For the best example of the latter, we look back at the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.
Solid play in January and February secured the Habs a playoff spot, but with just one regulation win in their final 11 games, they were bleeding by the time the playoffs arrived.
But that bit of losing humbled them. It forced them to play the right way — and that’s especially important in the playoffs, where opponents will take advantage of every mistake.
The Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup that year.
With consecutive 4-1 losses after clinching a playoff berth last Thursday night — first to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday and most recently to the Calgary Flames on Sunday — frustration is beginning to show through for Utah Mammoth.
They know they have the talent to win, but things just didn’t click this weekend. If the Mammoth take these games as lessons rather than failures, they could end up better off for it — just like the Habs in 1993.
“We had to be ready to grind, to get inside and to work extremely hard for every inch, and I didn’t like our approach,” said Mammoth head coach André Tourigny after the loss in Calgary. “I thought we were perimeter in east-west play.
“At this time of the year, it’s a good opportunity for us to learn that that doesn’t work against a team who’s committed.”
Veteran defenseman MacKenzie Weegar added his thoughts.
“It’s about being together and coming together as a group here and enjoying the grind,” he said. “I don’t think, tonight, we wanted to enjoy that grind. These next two games, it’s playoff hockey, and it’s the most important two games all season.
“We’ve got to be willing to grind it out, because in playoffs, playing (poorly is) not going to work.”
One way or another, the Mammoth will compete in the postseason this year, but they’re still fighting to keep the top wild card spot in the NHL’s Western Conference, which would allow them to go through the “pillow fight” Pacific Division rather than the gauntlet Central Division.
The Mammoth currently have a three-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings for that top wild card spot, but the Kings have a game in hand and their three remaining games are against bottom-feeder teams.
The Mammoth have the advantage of the tiebreaker, though.
In order for the Mammoth to clinch the first wild card spot, they need three points out of their final two regular season games — at least a win and an overtime loss, in other words.
Of course, that would change if the Kings were to lose points in any of their games this week.
MacKenzie Weegar’s return to Calgary
Everything moves so quickly when you get traded midseason. That’s what the Weegar learned at this year’s trade deadline when the Mammoth acquired him from the Flames.
Per the Mammoth broadcast Sunday, Weegar brought an empty suitcase on the plane with him for this trip so he could go back to his house in Calgary and pack some essentials.
But the emotional toll a sudden trade takes can be even greater than the logistical inconveniences, and during Weegar’s tribute video Sunday, it was obvious how much he meant to the city of Calgary.
“I got some goosebumps over there. It was a great cheer,” he said afterward. “The fans, my appreciation for them and their appreciation for me never goes unnoticed, so it was a special moment.”
Olli Määttä went the other way in the trade, and it has been exactly what he needed.
The veteran defenseman helped Utah a ton last season when it suffered injury after injury on the blue line, but a surplus this year had him in the press box more often than not.
Since the trade, Määttä has averaged 22:25 of playing time a night and has contributed two goals and 14 points — including an assist against the Mammoth on Sunday — in 19 games.
That’s a major step up from his singular assist in 22 games with Utah this season.
Source: Utah News