Friday’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks wasn’t one to be ashamed of if you’re the Utah Mammoth. Less than 24 hours removed from their big 4-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, the Mammoth had a tough task to try to beat the current Pacific Division leader on little rest.
The Mammoth came out swinging, but as the game went on, the Ducks crawled (or should I say waddled) into the game, capitalizing on their opportunities, and beating their opponents 4-1. In the final game of the regular season series against the Ducks, the Mammoth might’ve just witnessed what it’s going to be like playing in the first round of the playoffs. Here are some takeaways from Friday’s loss.
An Early Bullet
It didn’t even take Dylan Guenther a full two minutes to get the Mammoth on the board. The Mammoth’s current leader in goals got to show the Ducks what they could be seeing a lot of in a best-of-four series, truly a laser of a shot.
The Mammoth couldn’t capitalize on a three-on-two opportunity they had entering the offensive zone. However, it didn’t stop them from continuing to attack. The puck was thrown to the boards, where Sean Durzi, out of nowhere, grabbed it. Durzi quickly passed the puck to an awaiting Guenther, who was in his usual spot in the faceoff circle.
From there, you can probably piece together what happened. Guenther unleashed a missile that got past Lukáš Dostál and into the back of the net to get the Delta Center on its feet early.
Who doesn’t love a Gunner one-timer?? pic.twitter.com/lrnGqtABfW
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 21, 2026
This was yet another game where the Mammoth started well. On Thursday, the three goals in the first 10 minutes by the team helped them secure a win. On Friday, while the team didn’t win, it was important to start the game on the right foot with the hope that the team could ride that momentum.
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“It was a nice play, even in his own end,” Guenther said. “I think he got the puck out, we got a three-on-two, and Durzi is really good with the puck. He is really smart, and he is always looking for other guys. I was over there on the weak side, and he made a good, hard pass. It is good to start the game that way.”
The goal was Guenther’s 34th goal of the season and his 59th point. He is one point away from matching his career high of 60 last season. The goal was also Guenther’s fourth in the past five games.
Meanwhile, it is good to see Durzi get an assist and a shoutout from his teammates. Yes, he hasn’t been great this season. His offense hasn’t been as consistent as in seasons past, and his defense has been criticized by many as of late. However, he’s not been the sole reason why the Mammoth have lost games. With this loss, especially, he had a big part in setting up the offense, and played a solid game when it came to defense.
While the lead wouldn’t last long for the Mammoth, it was good to show early on that the lack of rest wasn’t going to affect them, at least in the first period. The next two periods, though, saw a shift in momentum.
All Flash, No Finish
Shots for the game after the first period? 14-5 in favor of the Mammoth. They had all the momentum, and though the game was tied at one, it seemed like all the Mammoth had to do to get the win was to keep playing that same way.
However, after a great chance for them halfway through the game, Alex Killorn capitalized on an out-of-position Vítek Vaněček to score the go-ahead goal and the eventual game winner.
As mentioned, Killorn’s goal came right after a fantastic chance for the Mammoth. However, there was no finish. There was no one to pounce on a rebound or anything. It was something that continued throughout the game.
“They had a good push, we had a good push, and we just got to bear down a little bit more on some plays,” Guenther said. “It’s right there, so I think there are some positives.”
The Mammoth did push hard after Killorn’s goal, especially in the third period, where they found themselves in the offensive zone for longer than a minute. Yet, despite having complete control, the Mammoth couldn’t generate anything in front of the net. Not even a fantastic move by Lawson Crouse to get around Jackson LaCombe and drive to the front of the net could generate a goal.
It wasn’t thanks to effort either. As mentioned, the Mammoth had some really good pushes. They challenged Dostál constantly. However, their one margin of error ultimately cost them the win.
“I think our push was great; we just didn’t finish,” Mikhail Sergachev said. “We had a lot of chances, a couple of breakaways, a couple going against the goal in front of the net, and we didn’t finish. That was the difference in the game.”
The other thing fans will blame this loss on is the officiating. There were quite a few missed calls in Friday’s game, most noticeably, a trip on Durzi at the end of the second period that sent the Delta Center into unleashing a roar of boos. The Mammoth bench wasn’t happy either with MacKenzie Weegar, even going out of his way to complain to the refs about the missed call.
However, when the Mammoth did get those calls going their way, it’s not like the power play did much anyway. They failed to score on any of their three man-advantage opportunities and gave up a shorthanded goal on a Ryan Poehling breakaway. It wasn’t a good showing at all.
One minor bright spot on the power play was Weegar, who played on the unit for the first time. He didn’t look out of place and moved well.
“He moved the puck quickly,” head coach André Tourigny said. “He was moving well, and he did a good job. Those kinds of games, you need your power play to come up big. On the first power play, we had good looks. We had good opportunities, but we could not bury (the puck), so we could have made a difference there.”
Another bright spot was the Mammoth’s penalty kill, which didn’t let the Ducks score on any of their five opportunities. While the power play still needs a lot of help going into the final couple of weeks of the regular season, the penalty kill seems to be back on track. It’s slowly creeping back into the upper half of the league, now sitting at 18th in the NHL.
A Playoff Preview?
Tough loss. There’s no doubt about it. The Mammoth didn’t play badly, and their errors were small. Especially considering they had just beaten one of the top teams in the Western Conference that punished them with physicality less than a day ago, Friday’s results weren’t bad at all.
Something that kept going through everyone’s minds during this game was that we might’ve just witnessed a prelude to a round one matchup in the playoffs. It’s certainly looking more and more realistic with every passing day that the Mammoth’s first-ever playoff series will be against the Ducks.
With the win, the Ducks took the season series two games to one. However, every game between the two teams has been close, except the Mammoth’s one win, a 7-0 victory in December. However, these two teams have changed a lot since then. Additions came in free agency with Weegar getting traded to the Mammoth and John Carlson getting traded to the Ducks.
These two teams have also been through a lot since that blowout game in December. The Mammoth found themselves struggling in December but popped off in January. Through big wins over playoff-bound teams like the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings, they’ve been able to find their groove and build a gap between them and the other teams playing for a wild card spot.
The Ducks, in their own respect, have come out of nowhere this season and have found themselves in the lead for the Pacific Division crown. Despite having a negative goal differential, they’ve found ways to win and have gotten big wins, including in Friday’s game.
Just based on the 4-1 Ducks win, a playoff series between these two teams would be so fun. The big storyline is that both of these teams are young and are just beginning to enter their window of contention. You get a matchup of Dylan Guenther and Cutter Gauthier, Logan Cooley and Leo Carlsson, Mikhail Sergachev and John Carlson, and, of course, the battle of the Czech goaltenders.
Not to mention, the Ducks haven’t been in the playoffs since 2018, when the San Jose Sharks swept them in the first round. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2017, when they beat the Edmonton Oilers in six games. The Mammoth, being a newer franchise, have never made the playoffs. If you would like to include the Arizona Coyotes days, 2020 was the last time that team made the playoffs and won a round. There would be a lot on the line for sure.
Of course, there’s still quite some time until the playoffs begin. Despite the Ducks now having a three-point lead over the Oilers for first place in the division, you never know what’s going to happen. The Knights are in that mix as well. The Ducks will have to keep playing well if they want to secure that top spot.
For now, refocusing on the game, this is one where there were more positives than negatives for the Mammoth despite the loss. It left Tourigny proud despite the outcome.
“You can see the way we played in the third, we generated a lot of offense,” Tourigny said. “We had great opportunities. We had momentum, we were aggressive, and all of it. We were not on our heels, so really, the only thing I don’t like is the scoreboard. The rest of it is tough to complain about. Proud of the guys, proud of their resilience, proud of their mental toughness.”
Now, the Mammoth get a day off before their next game on Sunday. It’s a much-needed and deserved Saturday off, especially after the trip from Dallas to Vegas and a 24-hour turnaround to play the best team in the Pacific Division.
While the break might give the team some time to linger on the loss, it’s one that the Mammoth shouldn’t really be concerned about. They’ve been playing some good hockey down the stretch. There are always losses here and there. The focus now needs to be on their game on Sunday. Fix the small issues from Friday and keep picking up points in the final 12 games.
“We need a day off,” Sergachev said. “Definitely after a back-to-back; just keep our heads cool, relax, be with our families, and come back to work. I think we are playing some good hockey lately, and tonight’s loss doesn’t indicate we’re not playing well. We’ll just keep going, and it is going to be fine with the way we are playing. Then, we are going to win more games than we lose.”
The Mammoth will host the LA Kings on Sunday. The Kings are 28-24-16 this season and are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. They will play the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday before traveling up to Salt Lake City. These two teams last met in December, where the Mammoth lost 4-2.
