3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 4-1 Loss to Hurricanes

On his way to the box, Simashev waved to the crowd to get them even louder. It was an energy booster for sure for the team. Add on the fact that it was Simashev’s first fight, and it was one of the loudest moments in the Delta Center during the game.

“You guys know me, it’s the passion side of it, the emotion that’s a big part of the game, whether he drops the gloves, gets in his face, but he gets buried from behind there, and for him to stand up and use his size and show that guy that’s not okay,” Sean Durzi said. “The fight is the fight. But it’s the message that it sends that nobody does that to us. Nobody does that to him. I’m proud of the kid; he’s a good kid. He wants to learn. He wants to get better. That emotional side of the game is really important to me and to all the guys in here, and he shows his teammates that he’s here to compete and win.”

It’s not the first time that Simashev has fought someone this season. He dropped the gloves with Dino Kambeitz of the Abbotsford Canucks back in December. That was another fight that didn’t go much of anywhere, but it’s still good for Simashev to get that experience being in a tilt because a fight he might take part in the future might change the game.

Simashev is a massive part of the Mammoth’s future and one day could be a top-two defenseman for the team. The team knows that and is excited by his play, including him sticking up for himself on Saturday.

“He’s a big body, and that other guy was a big dude too, but it’s great to see,” Dylan Guenther said. “He’s gonna be a huge part of this team moving forward, and he’s so big, he skates so well, he’s got a good stick, and he’s a strong kid, so he’s a big part of this team.”

While Simashev might be sent down shortly to finish out the season with the Roadrunners, he has improved tremendously since the start of the season. 

“You can see his confidence with the puck as well,” Tourigny said. “He made a few good plays, had a few good shots, one-timers, and stuff. We all know Sima (Simashev) will be a great player for us. For a long time, he showed he’s capable of contributing at the NHL level.”

For Simashev, the game against the Hurricanes was an early showcase of why he should be on the NHL roster to begin next season. While we’re still a long way from that, the growth has truly shown.

Mr. 40

Hitting the 40-goal plateau is kinda a big deal. No Mammoth player has ever done that. If you want to look at the history of the Arizona Coyotes, Keith Tkachuk was the last player in that organization to do so back in the 1997-98 season. It’s not an easy mark to reach, which is why Guenther hitting it on Saturday is a big deal.

Mikhail Sergachev slid the puck to Clayton Keller on the power play, who, in return, fired a long, nice pass to Guenther, who unleashed his signature slapshot to score the only goal for the Mammoth. It marked his 72nd point of the season and, as mentioned, his 40th goal.

That now ties him for 10th in the NHL in that category. Nathan MacKinnon leads the league with 52 goals.

Getting to the 40-goal plateau was something Guenther wanted to do this season, especially with the playoffs in mind. It’s a sign of improvement and a sign of hard work. Over the course of his career, he’s gone from six goals to 18 to 27 and now, of course, 40. It’s a sign that Guenther has grown and developed as a player and a goal scorer.

“Ever since I’ve come into the league, I’ve gotten a little bit better every year,” Guenther said. “That’s the goal, to just keep improving, doing some other things, and finding other ways to contribute offensively, and then just go from there.”

When he was drafted ninth overall in 2021, Guenther was expected to become a key part of the team, eventually becoming a playoff team. The Coyotes, at the time, traded their captain and one of the best defensemen in their franchise history for the pick to draft him. Guenther has truly become everything that general manager Bill Armstrong and his staff had hoped he would pan out to be and more.

On top of that, Guenther has been a great part of the Mammoth’s locker room. Guys love being around him. Durzi couldn’t stop mentioning how great a person he is, and of course, how good a shot he has.

“As a guy, he’s unbelievable,” Durzi said. “We can talk about him forever, just how much he means to this team, as a person, and the energy he brings, the competitiveness, the fire, all that stuff, but as a hockey player, he’s special. I remember the first time I met him, you see his release, and then if you compare it to now, it gets better every day. He’s an awesome guy, awesome player. Couldn’t be happier for him.”

It’s been mentioned how much Tourigny likes not just the goal scorer Guenther, but also the two-way player as well. However, it’s not just all the above that the head coach really sees. Tourigny also knows how hard Guenther has worked to get to the point where he is a 40-goal scorer in the NHL.

“I often say there’s a difference between being capable of playing in the NHL and being a good player in the NHL,” Tourigny said. “It’s not because you made 26 goals or whatever it is…To be a good player in the league, it demands a lot of stuff off the ice as well. Gunner, the way he preps himself, the way he works on his body. I guarantee, right now, he’s in the gym, and he’s doing stuff. He’s doing all the stuff a good pro has to do to prep his body for tomorrow, for whatever’s next, stretching-wise, or training-wise, or recovery-wise, all of those are things sometimes you take for granted, but you need to check all the boxes.”

It is an incredible accomplishment that Guenther has hit 40 goals, especially so young in his career. However, it’s also a great accomplishment to be known by your team as a great athlete and great human being. That’s what Guenther has accomplished. He’s turned himself into a vital player for the Mammoth and one that is crucial for a playoff push.

The next benchmark to hit is 50 goals. While Guenther probably won’t hit that this season, barring some incredible offense in the final three games, next season, he really could do it. If he continues to work hard and push himself, the sky is the limit for the young forward.

A True Test

Before the game, Tourigny called the Hurricanes a true test for the Mammoth. It makes perfect sense. The Hurricanes are the last team that the Mammoth play that is in a playoff position. They are also one of the best teams in the league, currently second in the whole NHL in points.

It wasn’t just the Mammoth who thought the game was a big indicator of who they are. Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said the same thing before the game.

“We’re not going a full lineup tonight, so it’s not quite the same, but we still look at it the same,” Brind’Amour said. “We’re trying to win, and we know that the opponent is. They’re a playoff team. So all the teams that make the playoffs have a chance to win it all, in my opinion. So we got to be ready to play.”

Postgame, if you look at it, it wasn’t a bad showing for the Mammoth. They played really well against a well-coached Hurricanes team. Ultimately, take away the first period, and the Mammoth really had a chance to win this one.

“Not the start we wanted,” Tourigny said. “We know Carolina is a quick starter, and so that is disappointing. I like the way we responded in the second and the third. I think we played hard. It’s a tough team to play against. The way they play, the pace they play, they force you to execute under pressure, and it was tough for us to connect cleanly from our breakout on, so we did not generate all the offense will warrant, but we had the effort in the second and the third. Unfortunately, our slow start cost us.”

One thing is for certain. It was definitely a better performance than the last game they played against the Hurricanes.

A couple of things. I want to shout out Brandon Tanev. The Athletic just recently posted an article selecting their MVPs and most disappointing players from each team. Tanev was selected as the most disappointing player on the Mammoth.

It hasn’t been the season Tanev has dreamed of, but besides his lack of offense, recently, he’s been playing some smart and physical hockey. You can always count on him to play hard and land a check. On Saturday, he took a couple of hard hits, including one that left him face down on the ice. However, he got back up and continued playing his game. Kudos to Tanev. Truly a warrior.

The second thing is special teams. Yes, the power play has scored in eight straight games, including on Saturday, but going one-for-five is a little underwhelming. You have to capitalize on those opportunities in the playoffs. Granted, it’s been operating at a better rate than it was before the Olympic break.

The penalty kill going one-for-three wasn’t bad either. However, again, that’s going to be a big thing in the playoffs. One goal could end the Mammoth’s season and chances of winning the Stanley Cup. It’s just a few little issues, but you never know what will happen past Game 82.

“They got a good kill over there,” Durzi said. “Our power play has been really good, moving it simple, attacking when we can. On those recoveries, where you let your skill take over, they got one of the best defensive centers in the league over there, and then one of the best defensive defensemen in the league, and they’re a pretty big part of that kill. It shows, but I liked a lot of the stuff.”

The Mammoth didn’t do a lot of things wrong on Saturday. It obviously sucks to lose, especially because they haven’t locked down the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, but that’s a really good Hurricanes team they held to three goals, excluding the empty net goal scored by Sean Walker.

If the team can continue playing the way they did in the second and third period, they’ll be in a good spot heading into the postseason. The Mammoth are still playing their best hockey. Continuing that after a loss will be the goal heading into Sunday’s game.

“We didn’t do, necessarily, all the right things right tonight,” Guenther said. “They’re one of the best teams in the league. I thought that we outplayed them for bits and parts of the second, and if we (continue to) do that, we’ll be in a good spot.”

The other good thing is that the Mammoth have an easy schedule going forward. All three games are against opponents who will not be making the playoffs this season. They only need three points to lock up the first wild card spot. The odds are in their favor. 

“We are all in this together, so we all know how important it is,” Tourigny said. “If you know the schedule we have, those are really important games. We’ve been playing really meaningful games, pressure hockey for a long time…we’ve been reacting well, so I have no reason to believe the guys will do anything different.”

With a playoff spot locked up, there’s not a ton of stress on the Mammoth, but to win their final three games heading into the playoffs, it would be huge for the momentum heading into the playoffs. It comes down to these final three games. Will the Mammoth falter and enter the playoffs on a losing note, or will they go into the playoffs looking like a winning team?

The Mammoth will next play the Calgary Flames on Sunday. The Flames are 32-38-9 this season and are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken. These two teams last met in December, where the Mammoth lost 2-0. The season series is tied, with each team getting a win.