3 Takeaways From Avalanche’s 4-3 Loss to Mammoth

But when you watch the replay, the call becomes much more questionable. As the Avalanche were changing lines, Nathan MacKinnon lingered in the Utah zone. Dylan Guenther fumbled the puck just outside the zone, and Valeri Nichushkin took control of the puck, leading to Landeskog’s goal a few seconds later.

For starters, it didn’t look like Nichushkin hit the puck into the zone; a closer angle seems to show Guenther simply fumbling the puck into his own zone. The call also begs the question of the positioning of the benches and how it impacts offsides calls. No matter how you slice it, the Avalanche went from being up by two to being right back in a tight game.

The Mammoth Are Going to Be Trouble

Though these takeaways are largely meant to be about the Avalanche and how things unfolded for them, one can’t help but notice the Mammoth. This feels like a different team than the one that was in Phoenix, a young exciting team on a clear upward trajectory.

Nick Schmaltz is playing his best hockey. Clayton Keller is one of the most underrated wingers in the league. Guenther feels like he’s on the verge of superstardom. The Mammoth played fast, physical, tenacious hockey on Tuesday night.

This is a team that feels like it is on the verge of letting the league know that it has arrived. Though they feel like they are a piece or two away from being true contenders, they seem to finally be delivering on the potential we have heard about for so long.

This Felt Like a Playoff Game

Perhaps the biggest takeaway of all is that this game didn’t feel like game No.7 of the regular season. The atmosphere was hot, and the Mammoth fed off the energy of the crowd, playing at a fast pace. Even more importantly, they were finishing their checks in a way that felt like a playoff game.

One-on-one battles were intense and physical throughout the game. Though the hits – 28-20 in favor of the Mammoth – don’t jump out, there was an intensity to each of these battles that made it feel like more than your average regular season game.

Given their proximity to one another, it would be cool if the Avalanche and Mammoth emerged as new rivals. Think of it as the Rocky Mountain Rivalry. The young Mammoth also have a bit of a chip on their shoulder, looking to show the older, more experienced, and (arguably) more talented Avalanche that they are to be taken seriously.

Still Unbeaten in Regulation

This is probably the first game all season in which the Avalanche didn’t look like the better team. The Mammoth had them running around and had them on their heels in the second period. With just over two minutes left, Martin Necas found the back of the net on a bad angle shot to send it to overtime.

The best teams find a way to earn points even when it looks like they might not “deserve” them. The Avalanche did that here, grabbing a point to extend their point streak to seven games. The Avalanche get the Carolina Hurricanes at home before a weekend road trip featuring the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils.