Mammoth vs. Golden Knights Game 3: Key takeaways as Utah pulls ahead in series

SALT LAKE CITY — There was quite a scene outside of the Delta Center prior to the first playoff hockey game in the building’s history on Friday. Military helicopters flew overhead and music blasted while Utah Mammoth fans danced and chanted, their faces painted blue and woolly mammoth hats draped over their heads.

Inside the building, the fans had an even better time.

The Mammoth used their speed and skill to fly past the Las Vegas Golden Knights in their 4-2 win, taking a 2-1 series lead.

The Golden Knights stormed out of the gates, outshooting Utah 10-1 early in the game, but Utah netminder Karel Vejmelka stood on his head until his team found its rhythm.

Mammoth defender MacKenzie Weegar opened the scoring with a slap shot that rung off Carter Hart’s mask, flew between his legs and into the Vegas net, sending the sold-out Utah crowd to its feet.

Utah rode the momentum from that goal, pressuring in the Golden Knights’ zone for several minutes until Logan Cooley drew a high-sticking penalty on Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb in front of the net. The Mammoth took advantage when Dylan Guenther lazered a one-timer past Hart for his second goal of the playoffs to make it 2-0.

“There are some guys in the league who have that kind of a shot, but it’s not every team that has the privilege to have a guy who can shoot the puck like that,” Utah coach André Tourigny said of Guenther. “What I like about Dylan’s game right now is that it is one element of his game. That’s not his game. It’s one element of his game.”

The second period was a similar story to the first, with Vegas controlling possession early on but generating little offense with it, then Utah striking quickly on the other end. Lawson Crouse scored twice in less than five minutes to extend Utah’s lead to four before Jack Eichel scored on a rebound in front of the Mammoth crease to cut the deficit to 4-1 entering the third period.

Nic Dowd scored his second goal of the series in the third period to make it 4-2, but it was too late to spark a comeback.

Utah impressed all season with its speed in transition, and after a rough start to the series, it has shone through over the last two games. The Golden Knights still control territory for the majority of games, but struggle to generate much from that time spent with the puck. Meanwhile, the Mammoth have needed very little opportunity to generate goals.

“We used our speed a lot tonight,” Utah captain Clayton Keller said. “We stuck with it. They’re a great team and they make you work for everything.”

It will be interesting to see how coach John Tortorella, who is still relatively new behind the Vegas bench, tries to counteract what looks like a major speed disadvantage in the neutral zone for the Golden Knights.

Vegas allowed a franchise-low 12 shots on goal, and yet Utah still managed to score enough to win.

“Over the years, we’ve been a team that’s been able to generate in different ways, and sometimes we’re going to have more shots than other nights,” Keller said. “Quality over quantity, sometimes.”

Vejmelka weathered an early storm

You could feel the energy in the building for the Mammoth’s first playoff game. You could also see the nerves on the ice for the Mammoth players as the Golden Knights dominated the first 10 minutes of the game. Vegas lived in the Utah zone early on, outshooting the Mammoth and generating several grade-A scoring chances.

However, the Golden Knights came away with nothing to show for it thanks to Vejmelka’s heroics in net.

Mitch Marner found Brett Howden for a one-timer from right in front of the net on the second shift of the game, and Vejmelka slid across for a pad save. Minutes later, Vegas fourth-line center Dowd fired a low shot through a horde of bodies in front, and Vejmelka somehow tracked the puck through the traffic to get his left pad on it. Vejmelka stopped all 13 of Vegas’ shots in the opening period, and eventually the skaters in front of him found their game to give the Mammoth an early 2-0 lead.

Utah’s top line found something

The first two games of the series were not good for Utah’s top line of Nick Schmaltz, Keller and Crouse. The trio — which features two of the Mammoth’s top scorers during the regular season — didn’t score a goal in Las Vegas, and was on the ice for multiple goals against.

That all changed in Game 3, with Crouse scoring two key goals in the second period to extend Utah’s lead.

“We talked about it as a line,” Keller said. “We just want to be better each game. It’s the playoffs. You have to work for every single inch, and just a little execution or details go a long way. We’ve had times throughout the regular season where we struggled a bit, and had to reset, and we were still confident and still had a lot of chemistry.”

Early in the middle frame, Crouse dished the puck to Schmaltz at the offensive blue line and crashed the net. Schmaltz passed it back to Crouse with speed, and he tipped it past Hart’s blocker to make it 3-0. Less than five minutes later, Keller won the puck on the forecheck and found Crouse at the top of the circles, and Crouse ripped a wrist shot past Hart’s blocker again to extend it to 4-0.

It could be that three of the Mammoth’s best players simply found their rhythm. It could also be that they’re getting a more preferable matchup now that coach Tourigny has the second change. Over the first two games, Schmaltz’s line saw a lot of Vegas’ fourth line of Dowd, Colton Sissons and Cole Smith. That bruising trio forechecked Utah’s top line successfully, grinded out shifts, and even scored twice in Game 1.

In Game 3, Schmaltz’s line scored both of its goals against Vegas’ top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev.

Vegas needs more from its stars

Last year, the Golden Knights’ season ended on a 127-minute scoreless drought against the Edmonton Oilers, and the biggest question entering the offseason was how to add more scoring to the top of the lineup. Vegas’ answer to that question was signing Toronto Maple Leafs star Marner to an eight-year, $96 million contract.

It hasn’t worked through the first three games of this series, as Marner has yet to record his first playoff goal, and the Golden Knights’ issues converting offensive zone time into goals have looked very similar to a year ago.

It’s certainly not all on Marner. Eichel hasn’t been his usual, impactful self. He scored his first goal of the series on Friday by finding on a loose puck in front of the Utah net, but has not been the dynamic player carrying the puck up the ice that Vegas has grown used to over the last few years.

Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas’ leading scorer in the regular season, has yet to record a point in the series and was demoted down the lineup by Tortorella on Friday. Tomas Hertl’s scoreless drought has now reached 23 games dating back to the regular season. His last goal came against the Detroit Red Wings on March 4.

This story will be updated.