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

It was Yamamoto’s second point of the season. His line with Kevin Stenlund (who played in his 300th NHL game on Sunday) and Tanev played a hard and gritty game. 

“I thought we played good,” Yamamoto said. “I thought we started the game a little slow, but I feel like as the game went on, we found everything.”

While the Mammoth are more than likely to keep rotating Yamamoto in and out with O’Brien, which is fair considering one is more physical than the other, Yamamoto has been one of the better players in the bottom six and arguably deserves a bigger role than what he’s been getting with the Mammoth. He’ll certainly be a player they’ll rely on more if the team runs into injuries.

It wasn’t just Yamamoto’s line that looked good. The third line played a solid game as well. A puck that managed to find Cole’s stick at the right time was sent to Lawson Crouse up the ice six minutes into the game. Crouse, on a breakaway, didn’t put on any fancy moves; rather, he just quickly shot it into the top of the net and scored for an early Mammoth lead.

The goal is Crouse’s second of the season. It’s been a solid start for the forward now with three points in 12 games. While you’d like a little more production out of him, he looks far more comfortable out on the ice than he did at this point last season. That’s what you love to see from the bottom six, especially when they play a tough game like the one against the Lightning.

“You need to grind the game, and I’m really happy about the way Crouser’s (Crouse) line played,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Really happy about the way Stenny’s (Stenlund) line played. I think Yammy (Yamamoto) played a hell of a game. They showed up in that kind of a game, and that’s what you want.”

It’s also worth noting that Cole had a really solid game as well. It was the second multi-point game he’s had with the Mammoth, with the two assists. Coincidentally, it was against his former team as well.

The players with the lesser amount of ice time really shone on Sunday. Despite the depth not being a big talking point so far, it was a good showing by them. The same could not be said about the stars of the group.

Second Period and Power Play Woes

It was a rough game for the top players on the Mammoth. That affected the power play, which significantly hurt the team’s chances of winning.

Despite three chances on the man advantage, the Mammoth failed to score on any of them. The Lightning did a good job at clearing the puck and shutting down any chance their opponents tried to generate. 

“They won a lot of the board battles, and they made good plays with the puck to get clears,” Tourigny said. “I think that was a little bit of the image of their game. They played really hard, they compete, and then they win those battles that made the difference.”

The Lightning also tested the Mammoth physically. A lot of scrums developed towards the end of the game, and it almost resulted in the Mammoth being shorthanded in the final minutes. 

It felt like a flat game for the Mammoth. While the team didn’t do anything poorly, they didn’t do anything to beat a good team. The Lightning might’ve had a bad start to the season, but they’re still a really good team, and it shows with their now five-game win streak that has gotten them above .500

Cole knows that better than anyone. He knows the Mammoth just weren’t good enough, and it’s as simple as that.

“I don’t think there’s one glaring thing necessarily, but there were little things all over the ice,” Cole said. “There’s puck battles for one, and I think reloads for two. They’re beating guys up the ice, and our neutral zone wasn’t great. There are a lot of things where we can improve. Nothing was glaringly horrible, but not good enough to beat a very skilled, very good hockey team.”

The second period was also rough for the Mammoth. It’s been the same story for most of the season. While the Lightning only outshot them 10-9, there weren’t any great chances for the Mammoth during the period. Meanwhile, the Lightning produced some solid opportunities and even scored thanks to a nice shot from Anthony Cirelli on the top of the faceoff circle.

While the third period was a better improvement, you can’t play only 40 minutes of hockey. It’s something that we’ve said about the Mammoth for a while. It’s something that needs to be fixed going forward.

Unlike the Mammoth’s top talent, the Lightning’s top talent showed up on Sunday. They shut down their opponent’s top six. Then they left it up to star players like Jake Guentzel and Yanni Gourde to produce, and they did.

“They’re number one in every metric,” Tourigny said. “They play heavy. They make good plays on the breakout. They hold on to the puck. You have to go to work. You won’t surprise that team with just your skill. They have skill too. That’s the biggest thing when you play against Tampa: you always think of their skill. They have skill, but what they do is they work and they don’t give you time and space.”

Time to Course Correct

It’s only two losses in a row. It’s been four days between games. However, the Mammoth know just as much as anyone else, losing multiple games in a row can lead to an extended losing streak. 

The Mammoth know the Lightning. Last season, they split the series with them, beating them at the Delta Center 6-4. It’s not like they don’t know what type of game they play. For Cole, that’s why it sucks more to lose and why the Mammoth need to course correct right away.

“They have played the same way for maybe 10 years now,” Cole said. “Nothing they did was shocking, and there was nothing they did that we were unprepared for, or shouldn’t have been prepared for. This wasn’t our best game, and we know that. Now we have to respond. We can’t let two (losses) turn into three, turn to four, turn to five. That’s how you find yourself out of a playoff spot. We have to fix this right away.”

It’s the first time this season that the Mammoth have lost at home. It’s been a place of strength for them. Unfortunately for the team, their game on Sunday was a pit stop for them as they now head to the northeast for a four-game road trip. If they’re not careful, as Cole said, this two-game losing streak could turn into six.

These past two games have been a good wake-up call for the Mammoth. Not every win will be easy. There are still things to improve on despite the big win streak. Perhaps this road trip will be a positive one where they finally figure out their second-period problems, or both the top six and bottom six produce well. Time will tell. For now, the Mammoth know what they have to do. We’ll see if they can do it.

The Mammoth will travel to North New York to play the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. The Sabres are 5-4-3 this season and are coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Washington Capitals. Last season, the two played each other twice, with the Mammoth winning both games by a score of 5-2. Tuesday will also mark the first time JJ Peterka returns to Buffalo after he was traded over the summer.