3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 3-2 Win Over Jets

Towards the end of the game, when the Jets pulled their own goaltender, Vaněček once again made some massive saves despite the pressure his opponent put on him. He ended the game with 28 saves. Vaněček now has the seventh-lowest goals against average stat, sitting exactly at 2.00.

Vaněček was arguably the best player for the Mammoth during Sunday’s game. The goaltender looks rejuvenated, confident, and better than in seasons prior. During the preseason, he was the best goaltender on the team. While he won’t be taking Vejmelka’s job any time soon, he’s been a fantastic addition for the Mammoth. If he continues his good play, the team will get the ability to rest Vejmelka more often, which could be the move to prepare him for bigger games.

Big Time Players Show Up in Big Time Games

You probably know the saying by now. Big-time players make big-time plays. It’s been no different for the Mammoth during their winning streak. 

All three of the Mammoth goals were produced by players who are keen to show up when their team matters. Mikhail Sergachev scored the first goal of the game, which was assisted on by Nick Schmaltz. Sergachev has been perhaps one of the more overshadowed players during the run of wins. Yes, he’s the top defenseman on the team, but when players like Schmaltz are scoring at an unbelievable rate, the defensive game of players doesn’t get mentioned as much.

Sergachev has been a beast defensively. While he ended the game on Sunday as a minus player, it doesn’t detract from the point that he was a plus-seven heading into the game. He’s also on a four-game point streak where he’s scored a combined eight points in those games.

At this point, everyone knows Schmaltz is on pace to have a career season. His assist brings his point streak to seven games. During this road trip alone, he has six points. Schmaltz is now tied with Jack Eichel for first in the league in points. 

The second goal was produced by some players who perhaps don’t get enough attention. In the second period, Kailer Yamamoto stripped the puck from Iaffalo and took off with Michael Carcone on his right. Yamamoto slid the puck to Carcone for an easy tap-in goal, giving the Mammoth a 2-1 lead.

Carcone has been a decent bottom-six option for the Mammoth. While he might never get back to his 20-goal production we saw a couple of seasons back with the Arizona Coyotes, he’s been solid in generating chances whenever he’s on the ice. 

Yamamoto might be one of the most underrated players on the Mammoth. He’s worked hard to earn his past two contracts with the Mammoth. He was a massive part in helping the Tucson Roadrunners make the American Hockey League playoffs last season. Yamamoto earned a roster spot in the NHL for a reason. While he might not play every night, he’s been effective whenever he’s in the lineup. Sunday showed that.

“We’ve been scoring a lot lately and getting contributions from a lot of guys,” Dylan Guenther said. “It’s huge. Everyone on this team plays a huge role. Guys like Carcs (Carcone) and Yams (Yamamoto) are really good offensively. That helps a ton.”

Then, of course, we can’t go a single game without talking about the second line of Guenther, JJ Peterka, and Logan Cooley. Once again, the trio came in clutch when the team needed it most.

Late in the third period, it all started with Peterka racing against a Jets defender, trying to get the puck that floated into the Winnipeg zone. Peterka outmuscled and outpaced his opponent, and despite taking a massive hit, he was able to get the puck to Cooley.

Cooley then, without a thought, slid the puck on his backhand to Guenther, who shot it into the back of the net with his excellent shot. The kids came in clutch again. Who else but Guenther to score it as well? He is now tied with Seth Jarvis for the league lead in game-winning goals.

It was a great game for the entire Mammoth forward group. It exhibited some good depth while also showcasing, once again, the great and timely production that this team can have. It was another good game for the forwards. A sentence that many have been saying for the past couple of weeks about the Mammoth.

Seven in a Row Is Good, but Back-To-Back Wins Are Just as Good

The win streak has now grown to seven games. It’s pretty good. However, I think what is just as impressive is the fact that the Mammoth went into Minnesota on Saturday and won, and then went into Winnipeg the very next day and beat the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners. That’s not easy to do at all.

As mentioned, it’s the very first time the Mammoth have won at Canada Life Centre. I’m sure Brandon Tanev, Nate Schmidt, and Kevin Stenlund are especially happy, considering they all used to play for the Jets.

Speaking of Tanev, the forward took a pretty hard shot to the leg area and limped to the bench afterwards. He didn’t take another shift in the game. It’s something to keep an eye on, especially because this is at least the second time this season that he’s blocked a shot and appeared injured afterwards.

Something that was different from most of the Mammoth’s recent victories is that neither team really dominated a period. It was a pretty even game throughout. The Mammoth were certainly better in the second period, but throughout the game, both teams had good chances.

It does say quite a bit about the Mammoth and how good they are right now. This Jets team is coming off a fantastic season and haven’t been slouches this season. When the Mammoth can keep up to a team like that and pull off a convincing win, that’s a great sign.

The fact that the Mammoth did it while coming off a game just 24 hours prior is even more impressive. There’s a reason why teams complain about back-to-back games. They’re exhausting, especially when you’re traveling between the games. Yet, the Mammoth didn’t look tired at all. In fact, they looked like they were having fun.

“Winning is fun,” Guenther said. “We’re playing like a lot of games, too. I think we’ve got to continue to keep it rolling and just enjoy the fun for a bit.”

It’s a big win, but head coach André Tourigny doesn’t see it as a more valuable win than any other win. While the Jets are a tougher team than most, Tourigny wants consistency more than anything. He doesn’t want the Mammoth to play worse than they did on Sunday when they face a team like the San Jose Sharks. He wants the best every night.

“We want consistency,” Tourigny said. “We don’t want to level ourselves to our opponent. We want to be the best version of ourselves every night, knowing full well we played a good team like Winnipeg that is tough to play against. We don’t change our approach.”

It seems like that’s the mindset the Mammoth have right now. Dominate their opponents and stick to their game no matter who they play. It seems to have worked in the past seven games, including against a team like the Jets. Like Tourigny said, there’s no need to change and play a different style of hockey just because of the opponent.

The Mammoth are now number one in the Central Division. While it’s still early, it’s a great place to be. The win streak has to end at some point, but when it does, this will be a memorable stretch of games for all the fans of the team out there. One that we could potentially look back at and say this is the stretch of games that got the Mammoth into the playoffs.

The Mammoth will conclude their road trip on Tuesday in Northern Alberta against the Edmonton Oilers. This season, the Oilers are 4-4-2 and are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Last season, the two teams played each other three times. The Mammoth lost all three times, including most recently in March by a score of 7-1.