3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 4-1 Win Over Sabres

It wasn’t just the goal where Yamamoto contributed on Saturday night. As always, he was finding ways to stand out all over the ice. The forward had three hits and was also a massive part of two of the other goals the Mammoth scored.

With Anders Lee’s goal, John Marino had an incredible effort to keep the puck in the Sabres’ zone. However, the only reason why that turned into a goal was Yamamoto’s quick pass in front of a Sabres’ defender back to the defenseman, who slid it up to Lee, who then put the puck home.

On the fourth goal, Marino blasted a shot from near the power play that beat Colten Ellis. However, that went in because of a good screen by Yamamoto in the middle of the zone. Although he’s walking away from this one with one assist, he was a factor in three goals on Thursday.

Yamamoto does a lot right. He doesn’t complain when he’s in the press box. When he’s on the ice, he doesn’t mind playing anywhere in the lineup. His hard work and speed follow him wherever he plays. He has a great hockey IQ and is a player everyone loves rooting for.

“Obviously, super happy for Yami,” head coach André Tourigny said. “He’s a great player, and I’ve said it many times. He’s an everyday player, and he deserves all the credit.”

With Carcone’s injury status being week-to-week, Yamamoto will have at least a couple more games to continue proving he should be a permanent fixture in the Mammoth’s lineup. Of course, if he remains in the lineup, someone will be pushed out. However, if anyone deserves to continue not being a healthy scratch, it’s Yamamoto.

Marino and the Man Advantage

Another big standout in the game was the aforementioned Marino, who walks away from this one with two points and as a plus-one. Like most of the team on Thursday, the defenseman did not have a good game against the Bruins. However, he returned to form against the Sabres and made smart plays both offensively and defensively, which helped him set up Lee for the insurance goal.

“Johnny plays with such poise,” Lee said. “He’s not a flashy guy, but he’s always making a smart play defensively in breakouts, and that’s the kind of stuff that is so big for our group. For him to get a nice little bomb from the top and get one to go is great. He had a great night.”

Marino’s goal from near the blueline was scored on the power play. Speaking of the man advantage, the Mammoth played way better on their five opportunities. The power play struck twice on Saturday. One of which was Marino’s goal, the first goal scored by the Mammoth’s second unit on the man advantage.

The Mammoth’s first power play goal of the game came from Nick Schmaltz, his sixth of the season, which once again ties him for most in the NHL . The elite passing we’ve seen from every game outside of the one against the Bruins returned, and it showed with Logan Cooley’s fantastic cross-crease pass to Schmaltz.

It was a complete 180 from the game prior. It was a statement that the lackluster power play that went 0-for-7 was just a flash in the pan.

“I liked our power play,” Tourigny said. “It showed character. They were not really good last game. We know that, but they did not let that affect their game. They played tonight with quickness. They attacked. They were confident. I really like the way they play.”

Tourigny was right. The confidence was back. The power play was moving the puck and getting shots off. With the two goals, the Mammoth’s power play is right back on top in the NHL, operating at a 40% success rate.

Bounced Back

A 6-1 loss, especially early in the season, can be detrimental to any team. They can choose to continue playing poorly and not find a way to recover from an embarrassing loss, or they can find a way to fix what they did wrong, come out, and have a bounce-back game. The latter is what the Mammoth chose to do.

It looked like a completely re-energized Mammoth team on Saturday. Pin it on the team being hyped that Yamamoto had a great first game, or the team finding ways to score again, or whatever it may be. This was not the Mammoth team that got steamrolled. This was the team we’ve seen most of this road trip.

The Mammoth’s long East Coast road trip is finally over, and they fly back to Salt Lake City with a 3-2-0 record across the five games. It was a grueling trip where the Mammoth played some tough teams in some tough environments. To grind out three wins to come back home over .500 is big, and it means a lot to this team.

“We are 4-2-0,” Tourigny said. “We played five of our six games on the road, so that is pretty good. After a long road trip, coming back home, it’s always challenging. It’s important. We want to be a really good team. You need to win games, and it’s a huge difference: that game at the end of the road trip, you go back home 4-2-0 instead of .500.”

It wasn’t just the offense either. The Mammoth showed they will not be pushed around. MacKenzie Weegar ended up fighting Peyton Krebs after the Sabres’ forward took some jabs at Karel Vejmelka. The Mammoth have been an extremely physical team with four fights this season and near the top of the league in penalty minutes.

The biggest win of this game for the Mammoth, though, was showing that the 6-1 loss to the Bruins will not define them. As the Mammoth head home first in the Central Division, they can feel proud about this road trip and this win and use this game as an example of being able to rebound from mistakes.

“Early in the year, everyone’s getting their feet under them,” Lee said. “We played in a lot of tough buildings with some good hockey teams. It’s a good trip, and now we have an opportunity to go home, get some rest over the weekend, and get in front of our fans again this coming week. We’re pumped about that.”

The Mammoth will play their second home game of the season on Tuesday when the Toronto Maple Leafs come to town. The Maple Leafs are 3-2-1 this season and are coming off a 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche. These two teams last met in January when the Mammoth won 6-1.