3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 2-0 Loss to Lightning

The second Lightning goal was basically insurance. With around 45 seconds left, a pass from JJ Moser found Anthony Cirelli, who blasted it to the net on the power play. Brandon Hagel was there to tuck the puck into the back of the net just in case, but the NHL kept credit for Cirelli. 

Spot any similarities between the two goals? Both were scored on the power play for the Lightning. The Mammoth’s penalty kill was unusually mediocre on Monday. Credit where credit is due, the Lightning’s power play is one of the best units in the league. 

“They’re highly skilled and make a ton of great plays,” Cole said. “They got a lot of great players. It’s going to be impossible to shut them down completely. I think overall, we did a pretty good job.”

The penalty kill, as Cole mentioned, wasn’t downright horrible. The Mammoth went two for four on killing power plays. It’s hard to defend when you have guys like Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Hagel, and Cirelli on the other side of the rink, and you have one less player.

The discipline by the Mammoth was an issue. It was a physical game between two of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. Sergachev took a slashing penalty against his old teammate Kucherov, which ignited boos from the crowd every time he touched the puck. There were multiple scrums throughout the game that culminated in a hit against the boards that sent Sean Durzi into the locker room.

Poor Durzi. He has just been cursed with injuries. Last season, only a few games in, he sustained a right shoulder injury in a game against the New Jersey Devils that knocked him out of action until February. This season, he sustained another shoulder injury that kept him out for a few weeks. He’s a very energetic player who wants the best for his team, which he exhibited well with a yelling match with Declan Carlile. Hopefully, this injury isn’t too bad.

The final couple of minutes after Durzi took that hit started a chain of penalties, beginning with a not-so-great roughing penalty from Lawson Crouse. That led to Cirelli’s goal, which led to Sergachev and Zemgus Girgensons getting into it right before the game ended.

“It’s a team that leads the league in about everything offensively,” Tourigny said. “We did a really good job. Unfortunately, too many timely penalties. Not just that we got in the box. It was the timing of when we got in the box. I think that cost us the game.”

Just like the goaltending, it’s pretty simple. The Mammoth played a really good game. They looked sharp defensively. They had chances. The Lightning were better. They got past Vejmelka and had a great power play. That’s how they won the game.

Weather Calling for Lightning Today, Sunrise Tomorrow

The Mammoth have yet to win a game at Benchmark International Arena. Funny enough, they have yet to score a goal in Tampa Bay. They lost 8-0 last season against the Lightning. This season, it was nowhere as bad with a 2-0 loss.

This shouldn’t be a game that puts the whole team in a depressing mood. It was a good game for the Mammoth. Sometimes, you can try your best and still fail. That’s what happened on Monday.

Cole is one of the most honest players in the Mammoth locker room. He will tell you straight up if the team didn’t play hard enough or try. After the game, he knows there are some things to fix, but overall, there were a lot of positives as well.

“It’s disappointing that we lost, but overall, I think that we were happy with our intention and our desperation in that game,” Cole said. “I think there are a lot of things that we can take in that were positive, obviously fixing things, but move on to tomorrow against another great team.”

It’s a quick turnaround as well for the Mammoth, and Tuesday’s game will be a tough one as well, as they pay a visit to the defending Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers. The Panthers are hungry for points, too, as they try to climb back into a playoff spot. Brad Marchand has returned for them, making Tuesday’s game even tougher.

Luckily, the Mammoth know how to play their game that can win them points. That’s how they went nine games in a row with a point and five games in a row with a win. Most of the time, they play their game, and they win. Sometimes, you run into a team like the Lightning.

“That team on the other side for the last two months, they dominate everybody, and we arrive here in their building, and we played a good game at five on five,” Tourigny said. “I’m happy about what the guys did. Not happy about the result. Obviously, I would have loved to have a little bit more opportunistic offensively, but they have a good goalie.”

Points are obviously on the line, so the hunger for winning is high. There are more icnentives though. Mammoth have yet to win in Sunrise as well. On top of that, the game will be Nate Schmidt and Vítek Vaněček’s first return to Amerant Bank Arena since winning the Stanley Cup with the Panthers last season. You always want to beat your former team. Expect Tuesday to be a big game for the Mammoth.

For now, the Mammoth can rest and get ready for tomorrow. They can’t let this loss faze them. This is a Lightning team that has now won four of their past five games. The effort was there for the Mammoth. It just wasn’t enough to beat the Lightning. As Tourigny says, though, it’s all about tomorrow now and starting a brand new point and winning streak on Tuesday.

“It didn’t go our way tonight, but I think if we do that, we play a similar game, we’ll win a lot of hockey games going forward,” Cole said.

The Mammoth will play the Panthers on Tuesday. The Panthers are 28-20-3 and are coming off a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. These two teams last met in December when the Mammoth lost 4-3.