3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 4-2 Loss to Kings

It might’ve taken four periods for the Mammoth to figure out how to score again, but the top players broke through on Monday. It’s funny because, based on stats alone, the Mammoth are a top offensive team in the league.

The Mammoth are the only team in the NHL right now to have five or more players to score 10 goals. Keller’s 10th goal puts him alongside Logan Cooley, Peterka, Schmaltz, and Guenther for that achievement.

It might not have been the outcome the Mammoth faithful wanted, but no one will complain about getting to see Guenther and Keller score. Both goals kept the Kings on their toes. However, it wasn’t enough to get the win, and right now, that’s what everyone cares about most.

A Horrendous First Period

The recent play of the Mammoth has been interesting. The team has lost six of their past eight games, but most of the problems haven’t been the same issues that we saw in November. 

A big problem recently has been the execution. A lot of the goals against have come via turnovers and breakaways, and that was no different on Monday. Joel Armia’s first goal came on a breakaway. The opening goal from Adrian Kempe came due to a defensive lapse.

The Mammoth have also switched up their lines numerous times, and the results have, at best, shown for a game or two. Passes aren’t connecting, and the chemistry just hasn’t been there.

“The elephant in the room is our execution,” head coach André Tourigny said. “We need to make more plays and better plays. We need to connect on our execution. There are too many fumbles and ideas, too many plays that should have connected at the NHL level, where we fumble the puck, so that got your momentum as well. That’s a matter of focus, and that’s something we can get much better at.”

Another huge problem is that the Mammoth haven’t done well at getting their players to dirty areas. You want people in front of the net to not just screen the goaltender but also tip in pucks or knock in rebounds. It also creates the opportunity to get the puck before your opponents do and keep the pressure going. When you don’t have that net front presence, you won’t score as much.

It’s something that was sorely missed in the game against the Calgary Flames on Saturday. It was once again missing on Monday against the Kings.

“In Calgary, we didn’t have as much traffic, and it made it easy on them,” Keller said. You need a guy in the slot and a guy at the net. That’s how you create offenses, those quick hits, those shots that break down coverage and open up the other plays once you do that. That’s something that we have to get better at and continue to watch the video and get better at it.”

All of those things culminated in a horrible first period for the Mammoth. The Kings outshot the Mammoth 12-7 and led 2-0. Just like in the game against the Flames, the Mammoth found themselves chasing the Kings for a good chunk of the game.

“We didn’t have the start we were hoping for, and we needed it against that kind of team that was tough to create offense against,” Tourigny said. “I like the way we play in the second and the third. I think we compete really hard, and the effort was there, and the focus was there. Unfortunately, when you have that kind of a start, where I often repeat in front of you, it’s a one-goal game all the time, so you cannot give any free opportunity to your opponent.”

The second period was much better for the Mammoth, as Tourigny mentioned. Despite getting outshot, the team looked engaged and had more zone time, which led to Guenther scoring the power-play goal.

Despite a solid third period, the Mammoth never caught up to the Kings, and Armia’s empty net goal sealed the team’s fate. A valuable two points slipped through the Mammoth’s fingers, and at the end of the day, the game was worthless for them.

“(I’m) disappointed,” Brandon Tanev said. “Don’t get the two points. That’s a team that likes to play stingy through the neutral zone, and to generate offense, you’ve got to be simple with the puck, get pucks in that, and ultimately create traffic. I think we did a little bit of that, but we didn’t do enough at the end of the day.”

The Kings aren’t a horrible team. They’re currently third in the Pacific Division with a 14-8-7 record. However, their past couple of weeks have been rough. Instead of capitalizing on that and the rumors surrounding their coach, the Mammoth instead sat back and let the Kings make the first move. Something that has been a routine as of late.

The Champions Are Coming

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Things need to change. Well, there’s a reason why that’s been a main takeaway for many as of late. It’s because things aren’t changing, and if they do, another issue pops up.

What do the Mammoth need to focus on, particularly right now? Execution, having a good start, and net front presence. It’s as simple as that.

“(We need to start) shooting more pucks, getting into the goaltender’s eyes,” Tanev said. “We did have chances. Gunner’s (Guenther) goal was a great play, but it’s one of those things where the goaltender can’t see the puck. We had chances throughout the game to maybe shoot more. At the end of the day, pucks at the net challenge their goaltenders…Getting one of these greasy ones that’ll maybe get us out of a funk.”

When the Mammoth are playing up to their potential, they are a great team. We saw that in October. That was two months ago, though, and we still haven’t seen a consistent version of that. There are glimpses here and there, but we keep seeing the same Mammoth team that flounders and makes critical errors consistently to lose.

“We know what we have to do each night,” Keller said. “The coaches do a great job, telling us how we have to play and how we can kind of break them down and have success. Our execution was a little sloppy tonight. As the game went on, it got a little bit better.”

There’s a good team in there somewhere. The Mammoth just need to refind it. Once again, sounding like a broken record, time is on no one’s side in the NHL. There are now 52 games left in the Mammoth’s schedule. They are 17 points back of the Colorado Avalanche for first spot in the division, six points behind the Minnesota Wild for the last playoff spot in the division, and are tied with the San Jose Sharks for the final wild card spot (though the Sharks have the tie breaker with fewer losses).

Those numbers have increased in those teams’ favor in the past couple of weeks. It’s why fans are calling for changes, including on the bench. A better start was expected out of this Mammoth team. A lost season will not be tolerated.

Now come the defending Stanley Cup champions on Wednesday. It could be a great opportunity for the Mammoth. Taking down the back-to-back champions at home could provide a big boost. However, there’s a reason why the Florida Panthers have been to three straight Stanley Cup Finals. Ignore their current middling record; they are still a dangerous team.

Nothing is in the Mammoth’s favor for this matchup. This season, though, nothing favors any team. Every team has a compressed schedule. There’s no special treatment. It’s time for the Mammoth to rise up to the challenge and finally string together some wins again.

“In the NHL, there’s nobody who will feel sorry for you,” Tourigny said. “It’s not a league where you have to find excuses or stuff like that. You need to find solutions. You need to find a way. The game was there for us tonight. We need more urgency to start a game, and there will be another hell of a battle against Florida.”

The Mammoth will take on the Panthers on Wednesday. The Panthers are 14-12-2 this season and are coming off a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders. Last season, the two teams met twice, with the Mammoth losing both games, including the most recent one 2-1 in overtime.